Reunions
by Mistyeye
Summary: Sequel to Wolf in Sheep's clothing, please read first. The group is split and still reeling from recent losses. Can they find those missing or will an old enemy be too much for them? Warning of character death in first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**Sequel to Wolf in Sheep's clothing, please let me know what you think.**

**Thanks for reading.**

Chapter 1

It had been almost three days since the attack and the flames had finally died down but several of the once luxurious homes were still smouldering. The smell of smoke and death was almost overwhelming as she made her way through the now abandoned town. She used the tip of her katana to poke at the debris that was once the house she had briefly called home. They had only been in this place a few short weeks but she had felt safe here, ready to believe they could be secure behind the high walls and strong gates. She couldn't believe how wrong she'd been.

As she turned away she caught sight of the motor cycle tucked against the wall, far away from any of the destroyed properties. Her heart sank at the sight of it and she felt the prick of unexpected tears. If he'd been able to ride it he would have taken it, she'd already noticed that the usable vehicles were gone, the bike the only one remaining. He wouldn't have left it behind willingly.

With a sigh Michonne moved towards the gate, running a hand over her eyes. There was no point staying any longer, there was nothing - or no one - left. Decapitating a few straggling walkers she moved silently into the forest, heading back to the dilapidated farmhouse where she had left Carl, Judith and Enid. She had no idea how to tell them their family was gone.

Rick stretched his aching back as he straightened up. He felt Jessie's hand on his arm as she tried to offer some comfort but there was none to be had. He was tired of losing people, tired of digging graves and saying goodbye. He saw Rosita and Tara clinging together as they grieved for the latest loss.

Abraham had been strong, he had fought with everything he had but the gunshot wound to his side had been too much. Without the proper medical care and a safe, secure place to rest and recuperate he hadn't stood a chance. It had taken two days for the former soldier to die, two days of agony, two days of Rosita clinging to him, doing what she could with nothing more than over the counter pain killers and a damp cloth. It had been a blessing when he finally gave up the fight, closing his eyes and drifting away in Rosita's arms as she sobbed quietly.

They had insisted on stopping the convoy so they could bury him. It had just been the group he'd travelled the roads with, Jessie the only exception, the others of Alexandria didn't know him well enough to be invited.

They took the pickup with his body wrapped in the back and found a secluded clearing, just out of sight of the road. Rick dug the grave, with Gabriel's help, and they lay him to rest. Glenn and Maggie had made a marker, lashing two branches together and stringing his military dog tags over it, his name carved crudely into the wood.

Once they had finished Abraham's funeral Maggie stepped forward hesitantly, another marker in her hand.

"Glen and I thought we should have a marker for Daryl. I know we don't have anything to bury but it don't seem right to not have some kind of memorial" her voice cracked slightly but she struggled on. Carol took her hand, her eyes moist.

"You're right" she said softly "He deserves something"

They set the marker into the ground and Gabriel said a few words before each of them said their own goodbyes and moved slowly away. Finally they returned to the rest of the convoy and continued their search for a safe place to stay.

It was cold when Daryl awoke, cold and dark and he hurt a lot. He felt a strange pressure on his face and tried to reach up but found his arms restrained. He lay still, taking deep breathes as he tried to calm his racing heart. Images of flames and smoke flashed into his head, of desperate clawing and gasping for air. He started to cough and couldn't stop, even though his throat felt like it was being ripped apart. Eventually the hacking passed and he managed to regain control of his shuddering body.

As he lay there the memories came back. He remembered being in the house when it was set alight, being surrounded by flames, the oxygen around him burning away, leaving him fighting to breathe. He found the small staircase and dashed down it into the kitchen, all the time looking for an escape. Suddenly an image of Eric had popped into his mind and a very boring hour spent listening to the man waffle on about the mechanics of an eco-house. He'd gone on about the wiring for the solar panels and the rainwater storage tank being under the house and that there was a way into this crawlspace via a trap door in the garage floor. He'd made it to the garage just as the staircase crashed into the entrance hall, sending sparks, burning debris and smoke his way. Slamming the door he stumbled around, scanning the floor until he found the small hatchway. Ripping it open he threw his crossbow down and dropped into the enclosed space.

The gap was about four feet deep, barely large enough for a man to move around in and ran under the entire ground floor of the property. Most of the space was taken up by a large plastic tank full of captured rainwater, a web of cables and wires running throughout the rest.

Pausing for a second to regain his bearings Daryl began to crawl towards what he hoped was the back of the house. Finally he found the edge of the structure, thanking a God he didn't believe in that it was wood and not brick. He wedged himself in the tiny space between the wall and the edge of the tank and began hacking at the planks with his knife. His eyes were streaming and his throat burning, the heat from the fire was blistering the exposed skin on his arms and neck as he finally managed to break through the wood and gulp in the cool, fresh air. He forced his fingers into the gap and pulled at the wood, desperately trying to widen the hole until big enough to squeeze through. Just when he thought he wouldn't make it he was through.

He dragged himself into the space under the veranda encircling the rear of the house, still hidden from the view of those outside. Half conscious and in agony he saw the men watching the back doors and windows. Using the thick, drifting smoke as cover he forced himself forward, dragging himself to his feet as soon as he was clear of the veranda. He managed to take a few stumbling steps, losing his grip on the crossbow as he fell to his hands and knees. He crawled away from the heat before his limbs gave out and he collapsed onto the cool grass of the yard. He didn't remember anything after that until waking up alone in the cold and dark.

There was movement in the darkness and suddenly a figure was looming at his side. As a hand gripped his chin and forced his head around, Daryl met cold dark eyes and heard the familiar mocking voice.

"Remember me?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Sorry for the long delay in updating, it's been a hectic week. I managed to share my flu bug with everyone else in the house and men are so bad at being ill. My petrol-head, car loving daughter has just found out that she because of her illness she will probably never be able to drive again and I've had to deal with the devastation that has caused, she's absolutely gutted. Even the cat has been backwards and forwards to the vets as it looks like some cruel b*****d has kicked her while she was outside and badly injured her leg. I'd like to get my hands on them, I'd make my OC Katherine look like an angel.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think.**

**xxxx**

Chapter 2

There was a scrape of a match and the soft glow of an oil lantern filled the room. Katherine's features were softened by the muted light, making her look almost vulnerable but Daryl knew better. He'd seen her cold bloodedly shoot a man in the gut without hesitation and guessed that wasn't the first or last time she'd killed.

She leaned over him, carefully removing the oxygen mask from his face and setting it to the side.

"How are you feeling?" she asked solicitously as she studied him intently.

Daryl suddenly became very aware of his situation. He realised he was shirtless, arms and chest heavily bandaged. He tried again to move his arms, this time seeing the cuffs around his wrists fastened to the either side of the narrow bed frame, pinning him on his back.

"You gonna let me go now?" he growled, voice huskier than usual from lack of use and inhaling so much smoke.

Katherine smiled as she sat on the side of the bed, her hip against his, laughing softly as he tried to shift away.

"We found you unconscious a little way from the remains of the house. I'm still impressed you got out, you'll have to tell me how later" She moved closer, running her hand lightly over his bandaged arm, enjoying his obvious discomfort at her touch.

"Your arms were badly burnt, your body covered in cuts and scrapes and you were barely breathing. I bought you here with what was left of the Wolves, I sent them out to find what I needed to keep you alive"

With a sudden, smooth movement she was on the bed, straddling his hips, her hands on the mattress either side of his head as she leaned closer, her long hair brushing his cheek. He could feel her warm breath on his face as she whispered.

"You're going nowhere, I saved you and now…." Her smile was chilling as she continued "Now I own you"

It had taken almost a day to go through the hotel and make it safe but now Rick was confident it would be secure enough for the former residents of Alexandria to move into. They had come across the large country inn on their third evening on the road. They spent the night with the vehicles once more, waiting for daylight before they began moving through each and every room. There had been several walkers, mostly still in the uniforms of hotel staff, obviously trapped there since the start of the outbreak. They were weak and easy to kill before the corpses were dragged outside and piled in the back of the pickup.

"We'll take the bodies and dump them" Rick decided "Too risky to burn. We don't know how many of the Wolves got away, don't want to draw attention to ourselves"

Somehow the former Deputy had found himself leader again. The inexperienced townsfolk had turned to him, suddenly trusting him to save them. Deanna was still recovering from everything that had happened to her in the last few days, refusing to make any further decisions. It put him in a position he didn't want to be.

Once everyone was settled inside and the building secured as much as possible Rick pulled the survivors of his group to one side.

"I have to go back" he announced, surprising no one "I've gotta find my kids. Michonne will've kept them safe but I have to find them. I'm leaving in the morning"

"I'll come with you" Carol told him, brushing his protests aside.

"You can't go alone, Glenn's still recovering from his injury and Maggie shouldn't leave him. Tara and Rosita are in no state to be on the road at the moment and we need Sasha here. She's one of the best shots we have, she has to stay to help defend the place, just in case" she argued.

With a small, grateful smile Rick accepted her offer. They decided they would take one of the cars, with enough food and water to last a couple of days and leave at first light. They would go before Deanna and the others awoke to avoid any protest.

They were on the road as the sun came up. Travelling to the hotel had taken three days, but that was at a slow walking pace. As they flew down the road in the small SUV Rick knew it would only take a few hours to get back. He could only hope it would be as easy to find his children.

Michonne held up a hand, stopping Carl and Enid as she spotted movement in front of her. She watched the two men as they carried a couple of heavy boxes into the roadside diner, closing the door behind them. Both were alert and heavily armed and she was taking no chances.

Carefully she moved back, signalling the teens to follow her, Carl holding Judith close against his chest.

Once she felt they were far enough away from the diner she stopped again.

"Those men could be part of the group that attacked Alexandria" she told them "I'm going to find a safe place to leave you then go back and watch them a while" She silenced Carls protests with a look.

They found a small hunter's cabin nestled among the trees and she left the three youngsters there, quickly making her way her way back to the diner. Settling herself under a large tree, out of sight of the road she began to wait.

She watched patiently for hours, legs cramping and butt numb from remaining in the same position for so long but finally the door opened. Michonne gave a satisfied nod as she saw the woman step outside. She'd heard Daryl warn Rick about her before she'd left Alexandria.

"Got you" she thought as she watched Katherine arch her back, stretching like a cat in the sunlight, seemingly oblivious to the fact she was being watched.

Daryl kicked angrily at the bed frame again on the off chance that this time it would break . He'd spent the last couple of hours trying to break free from his restraints, becoming more and more frustrated. Katherine had told him the only way he could earn his freedom was by telling her where to find Rick and the others. She ranted for a while about how she owed the constable for the decimation of the Wolves, the deaths of her friends, including her current lover, Cal, and about how much pleasure she would get making him watch as the remaining survivors were slowly killed in front of him. When Daryl told her in no uncertain terms, that even if he knew where they were he'd tell her nothing she'd gone ominously quiet, giving him a smile that made his blood run cold.

"You'll soon tell me everything I want to know" she'd almost purred as she drew the knife from her belt, approaching him again. Restrained as he was he'd been unable to do anything as she cut the bandage from his chest, exposing the deep gash underneath.

"It took a lot to stop this from bleeding, seems a shame to open it up again" she commented as she touched the point of the blade to the wound. "Think Tom said it took 14 stitches to fix it up" she looked up and met his eye.

"How'd you get it?" She flicked the knife, casually cutting through the first stitch, then the second, slowly reopening the cut.

Daryl had a brief memory of jagged pieces of wood digging into him as he struggled his way out of the burning house, he remembered getting wedged and gritting his teeth as he forced himself through a gap that really was too small, sharp wood tearing into him a better option than the fiery alternative.

His silence didn't faze Katherine, she stepped away, staring in at his blood on the point of her knife.

"I'm going to leave you for a while. Take the time to think what you want to do next. Just remember I always get what I want and I don't care how I get it" With that she left him alone and he spent the next couple of hours trying to escape.

He was lying there, silently fuming when the door opened and a man entered the room, a glass in one hand and a plastic bucket in the other.

He placed the glass on a small cabinet at the bedside and dropped the bucket to the floor.

"Looks like you got the en-suite room" he laughed as he nudged it with his foot.

He moved closer to the bed and stared down at the uncovered wound.

"Hell, took me a long time to fix that up. Best you co-operate with her if you want to live" he commented.

"You Tom?" Daryl asked "You the one that patched me up?"

The man nodded.

"Yeah, used to be a paramedic before all this started" he indicated the glass of water on the bedside table.

"She says that's all you get until you tell her what she wants, so make it last"

Daryl flexed his arms, causing the cuffs to rattle against the metal bed frame.

"How'm I meant to use either of 'em trussed up like this?" he asked, trying to sound weak and helpless. He saw Tom hesitate before he made a decision. Reaching into his pants pocket he pulled out two small keys.

"I guess I can undo one arm, it's not like you're going anywhere is it?" he smirked as he leaned across the bed, grasping the cuff on Daryl's left wrist and unlocking it.

The second his hand was free Daryl swung it up, grabbing Tom roughly by the throat. He rolled over, using his body weight to push the man down. Taken by surprise Tom hit the floor, finding himself pinned there by Daryl's foot. With his right hand still cuffed, Daryl managed to slide from the bed, planting both knees firmly in Tom's chest as his grip tightened around the struggling man's airway. He leant forward onto his arm, increasing the pressure. Tom frantically pulled at his hand as he writhed on the ground, trying to throw the heavier hunter off him.

With a burst of effort Tom reached up, his fingers clawing at the wound on Daryl's chest, trying to open it up even further. Daryl gave a growl of pain and let go of Tom's throat, instead grabbing a handful of his hair. He pulled the struggling man's head up before slamming it back down into the ground. He repeated the move twice more before Tom's hand dropped down and he lay still and lifeless beneath him.

With a sigh of relief Daryl found the keys where Tom had dropped them. He unlocked his other wrist, suddenly aware how much he hurt. His wrist was swollen and bruised, his lower arm complaining at every move. He guessed he must have wrenched it when he shoved Tom from the bed. Glancing around quickly he spotted his shirt and vest, dumped on a chair in the corner. He shrugged into them as he headed for the door, opening it carefully. Blood from the chest wound seeped through his shirt as he cautiously peered into the dark corridor beyond his room. Seeing and hearing no one he slipped out, Tom's knife clutched in his left hand.

He hadn't gone far when he heard voices.

"Bitch thinks we don't know she's out there" one of them laughed "Let's see how good she is against a load of biters. We still got some penned up out there" The laughter faded as the men moved away.

Daryl waited for a second then began to follow as they made their way outside. The two men skirted around the back of the building, which he realised was a diner, with a small motel attached. Quietly, keeping out of sight of the men made their way to a small roped enclosure, hidden amongst the trees. Several walkers were trapped inside, all with W's carved on their foreheads. One of the men cut through the ropes, and dodged backwards. As the walkers stumbled towards them the men began to goad them into following , keeping out of reach as they lead them back towards the diner.

Hanging back, Daryl followed, curious to see where this was going. Suddenly the men darted into the trees, running from the walkers. There was a sudden, familiar sound and a walkers head was decapitated. With a grin Daryl saw Michonne, katana in hand as she efficiently dealt with the dozen or so creatures that had been set on her. Know she was more than capable of handling the situation, Daryl stayed out of sight and began searching for the two men. He found the first, lurking behind large tree, watching Michonne in astonishment as she sythed through the bodies. It didn't take much for Daryl to slip up behind him and drive the knife deep into the back of his head. Catching the body he lowered it to the ground to minimise the sound of it falling. Gathering up the dead man's weapons he moved away, eyes seeking a sign of the second man.

He saw him just as he stepped out behind Michonne as she dealt with the last of the walkers, his gun raised. The woman sensed his presence and span round, finding herself facing a cocked gun and unable to do anything about it.

Michonne saw the man in front of her, carefully making sure he kept out of reach of her blade. She saw him smile as his finger tightened on the trigger and she heard the gunshot. She was surprised to feel no pain and even more surprised to see the man slowly sink to the ground, his eyes blank and a bullet hole in his forehead.

She turned slowly, katana raised and found herself looking at a bandaged and battered Daryl, the gun in his hand still raised. Neither was sure who was the most startled when she jumped towards him and pulled him into an uncharacteristic hug.

"You're okay" she grinned at him as she let him go, glancing around "Where are the others?"

She saw the shock in his face as he stared at her.

"You mean they aint with you"

**Thanks for reading. Chapter 3 up in the next few days. Pretty please review, it really cheers me up.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Was going to wait until Monday to upload this but got excited about it and wanted to share. Please take a second to let me know what you think, am I keeping everyone in character? is it exciting enough? your comments help me to do a better job.**

**Thanks to all those who have already reviewed and followed, it's really appreciated.**

Chapter 3

Rick and Carol picked their way through what was left of Alexandria. Most of the homes had been either burnt to the ground or severely damaged by the fire that tore through the streets.

"There's nothing left" Carol kicked at a pile of rubble, what was left of the armoury. Her searching eyes fell on the motorbike still tucked against the fence and she swallowed back the lump in her throat. Rick followed her glance and found he had to turn away, it was still too painful to remember what they had lost.

"It was good of Aaron to think of moving it away from the flames, just in case" she tore her eyes away, looking at Rick instead.

"But we all saw the fire, we all knew it was unlikely he'd get out" Carol didn't cry, not in front of Rick. She'd shed all her tears in private, walking alone into the trees that first night on the road. Now she was focused on finding Rick's children and survival. There was no point in dwelling on the past, on things that couldn't be changed.

They moved further into the town, looking for any sign that Michonne had returned, any hint of which direction she'd taken. As they passed the house Daryl had been trapped in Carol couldn't help but look at the burnt out remains. A shudder ran through her body at the thought of him stuck in there as it burned. She could only hope the smoke had made him lose consciousness before the flames found him. As she turned her head away something on the grass in the yard caught her eye.

Rick heard Carol give a small cry as she rushed toward the debris. He saw her snatch something up from the ground, realising what it was as she turned to him, this time not hiding the with tears in her eyes.

"He had this with him. If it's outside then maybe, somehow, he did make it out" her voice was full of hope as she clutched Daryl's scorched crossbow to her chest.

Katherine was furious, she stormed around the diner, throwing and smashing whatever she could get hold of. The last remaining Wolf, Liam, retreated to the corner, his back against the wall as he prayed she didn't spot him. He'd only seen her this angry once before and it hadn't ended well for the two men that had upset her.

At her order he'd driven her back to the canning plant to collect some of her belongings, not seeing the point but not brave enough to disagree. When they returned she had headed immediately to interrogate the prisoner only to find Tom using the bed to try and pull himself to his feet, bruises on his throat and the beginnings of a hell of a concussion. Bile rose to the back of Liam's throat as he remembered the knife plunging into Tom over and over again as Katherine vented her fury over the loss of her captive.

A quick scout outside and it hadn't been long before they found the bodies, lying close to several headless corpses. Katherine had totally lost it then and now he was just trying to stay out of her sight. Finally she stopped the destruction, panting with exhaustion as she scanned the room. Liam swallowed hard as her eyes settled on him.

"You know how to track?" she demanded. At his reluctant nod she stormed to the door.

"Come on then, we don't have all day to find the bastard. I guess the bitch with the sword is with him now, probably the cop's kids as well" At the last moment she scooped up a machete from a table, testing the sharpness of the blade with her finger, licking the blood from the cut as she smiled at him.

"We've got a lot of payback to hand out"

The reunion with Carl, Judith and Enid had been short, sweet and just a little awkward. At the last minute Carl had changed the hug he'd been planning into a manly shoulder bump and Enid just about managed a small nod before she blushed deeply and stared at her boots, refusing to even look at Daryl.

"I think someone's got a bit of a crush" Michonne had whispered, laughing at his confused expression when he didn't get it. Judith had no such issues showing her affection, with a happy squeal she'd held her arms out for a hug that Daryl had been more than pleased to return.

He and Michonne had caught each other up with the situation as best they could and made a plan to return to Alexandria so Daryl could try and find any sign of where the others had gone.

The cars had left no tracks on the hardtop but the large number of people on foot had trampled the grass and undergrowth on either side of the road, leaving an obvious trail. They left Alexandria on foot, Daryl giving his bike a last longing look as they set off, planning to come back for it as soon as possible. Once they got a few miles from the town the food wrappers and empty water bottles began to appear.

"Dumbasses aint got a clue" Daryl muttered "Might as well be paintin' arrows on the pavement, trail their leaving"

"I don't think there's any wolves left now, apart from that woman and one other and they went off in a car a few hours ago" Michonne told him "I didn't see them come back. Maybe they decided to move on"

Daryl shook his head.

"Woman's crazy, she aint the forgivin' kind. She's up for some revenge" He glanced at Carl and Judith "She wants the kids so she can get to Rick" he told her quietly.

Michonne's grip tightened on her katana as she smiled grimly.

"Well it's a good thing we're here to stop her then" she commented.

Rick studied the mutilated body slumped next to the bed, noting the handcuffs still dangling from the frame and the bloodied bandage lying on the mattress, his trained cop's eye missing nothing.

"Looks like someone was restrained here and managed to get away. The bruises and head injury were before the stabbing. I'd say someone fought this guy and escaped and then someone else got him with a knife, it's a frenzied attack, looks like it was done in anger" He shared a look with Carol.

"Looks like we found where Katherine ended up"

They searched the rest of the diner, finding nothing, before heading back outside. It didn't take much to find the bodies in the forest.

"One knifed, one shot" Rick commented as Carol checked the walkers.

"Michonne was here, that's for sure" she told him "none of these walkers have heads"

They found the area of flattened undergrowth where Michonne had sat and watched the diner. Her tracks were subtle but they found them and followed the route back to the cabin, both of them remembering it was Daryl that had showed them what signs to look for when following someone.

A search of the cabin found a used diaper tossed to the side and an empty baby food jar.

"They were here but moved on" Rick muttered, frustrated at how close they must have been to finding his family. Quickly they searched outside, finally finding several footprints and disturbed branches.

"This way" Showing more confidence than he felt Rick lead Carol further into the trees.

Katherine and Liam had found the cabin and the tracks and had followed them back to Alexandria. They were now on the road following the obvious trail left by the evacuees.

"Makes sense they'll be trying to get back to the others" Katherine strode ahead, Liam hurrying to keep up with her, as he struggled with the heavy backpack of provisions. After a few hours she suddenly stopped, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Just ahead" she spoke quietly. Liam looked past her. He could just make out the figures on the road ahead. Returning her grin he shrugged the back pack off and seized his rifle.

"I can take them out from here" he told her, wanting to impress her with his shooting ability.

She lowered his weapon with a hand on the barrel.

"No, not yet" she told him "I want them alive, I want them to suffer and I need those brats to teach Grimes a lesson" The look in her eye made Liam suddenly feel pity for the people that had been responsible for the destruction of his friends and fellow Wolves.

He swallowed the feeling back as the two of them slipped off the road, seeking the cover of the trees as they stealthily followed the unsuspecting group.

Daryl was pacing uneasily as Michonne quickly changed a fussing Judith's wet diaper. He didn't like being out on the road, he felt too exposed. He missed his crossbow, felt naked without it. He'd searched for it back at Alexandria, hoping to find it on the ground near the burnt out house but it was gone, either taken or burnt. All he had was Tom's knife and a handgun with six bullets left. Michonne and Carl were both armed, again with a limited number of bullets. Enid had a wicked looking knife but he had no idea if she knew how to use it.

"You done yet?" he glared at Michonne as she rose, Judith in her arms, ignoring the look she shot at him.

"Somethin' aint right, it's too quiet" he was glancing around, whole body tense.

"Is it walkers?" Carl asked, picking up the hunter's tension. They been together as a group long enough to know to trust his instincts.

"Aint sure, but it's somethin'" Daryl reached for Judith, tucking the baby against his chest and zipping her tightly inside his jacket.

"Keep your weapons out" he instructed "Might need 'em damn quick"

They hadn't gone far when the first walkers stumbled towards them. Forming a loose circle, covering each other's backs they dealt with them efficiently . Daryl gave a quick nod of approval when he saw Enid ruthlessly taking out those closest to her. He frowned at Michonne's soft chuckle when the girl turned bright red and stumbled over her own feet.

More walkers appeared, barging past each other in an attempt to get to the fresh meat. Their hands were reaching and clawing and no matter how much the group fought they were slowly getting overwhelmed. For every walker they took down more attacked. The noise and stench was almost unbearable as they were slowly forced apart.

Michonne managed to stay close to Carl but Daryl was pushed further away. The burns on his arms were still painful, the wound in his chest bleeding again. His right arm and wrist were still aching from being wrenched in his escape from the diner but he used them to clutch Judith closer to him. A decaying woman managed to get a grip on his jacket and the child began to scream in terror. At once more walkers turned towards him, drawn by the piercing noise.

He stumbled back, feet leaving the tarmac as he tried to stay on his feet. He lost sight of the others, all he could see were walkers as they reached for him and the crying baby. His knife flashed and twisted but he knew he was too exhausted to continue like this for much longer. He backed away, trying to give himself some space but they kept coming. One gripped his arm, leaving him unable to lift the blade. Frantically he twisted his body, squirming enough to throw the walker against a second, knocking both down. At once they began dragging themselves towards him. Another crashed into him and he went down, losing his grip on his knife. In desperation he pulled out the hand gun, taking out out the closest two and managing to drag himself to his feet.

Judith was no longer screaming, he could feel her little body shaking against him as she sobbed into his chest. He knew he had to keep her safe, he had to get her out of there. With a final glance back at the road and still seeing no sign of Michonne or the teens he realised he had no choice. Firing at the nearest walker he turned and dashed deeper into the forest.

He ran until his legs were shaking and his lungs were burning but still they kept coming. Gasping for breath he forced himself on. Ahead the trees were thinning out and he could see buildings. With a final burst of speed he made it to the edge of the small town. There were several walkers milling around the streets and they began to shamble in his direction.

With a curse he threw himself up the steps of the nearest building, a small Mom and Pop store. He grabbed at the door, trying to yank it open but it was locked. With the last of his energy he tried to force it open to no avail. The first of the walkers had reached the steps, they were seconds away. With his back to the door he raised the gun and shot the closest corpse, it fell across the wooden steps, slowing those behind it for a few seconds as they struggled to climb over it.

Daryl looked down at Judith, quiet now, exhausted by her crying. He closed his eyes briefly, there was no way he could let her be torn apart by the walkers. He owed it to Rick to make sure she didn't suffer. With shaking hands Daryl raised the gun again. He had two bullets left, it was better this way.

He looked down at her trusting face as she stared up at him. Choking back a sob he placed a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry Lil' Asskicker" he closed his eyes as he put the gun to her temple.

The blast of the gunshot was deafening

**Thanks for reading**

**Chapter 4 up in a few days.**

**Please Review**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again to the wonderful few who have taken the time to review or follow this story, it's really appreciated.**

Chapter 4

Daryl's eyes snapped open, the hand holding the gun falling to his side. He heard a small gurgle and glanced down. Judith was smiling at him as she chewed happily on her fist. There was a second shot quickly followed by a volley of blasts from a rifle and several walkers fell.

An unfamiliar man was standing in the street, systematically firing at the walkers closest to them , a grin on his face as he watched heads explode from the impact of the bullets. Daryl heard footsteps on the wooden veranda running along the front of the store and turned expecting to see a walker approaching. Instead he saw Katherine smiling as she pointed her gun at him.

"You think I'd let those undead bastards spoil my fun?" she asked sweetly. "Drop the gun and start walking" she indicated back the way she'd come "We got a vehicle back there"

When he hesitated she rolled her eyes.

"Are you prepared to risk that little one on the off chance you might get your gun up and shoot me before I fire?" she asked pleasantly.

Seeing no alternative Daryl complied with her order. As Liam continued to gleefully shoot the approaching walkers she forced him off the veranda and onto the street, away from the approaching herd.

They reached a small blue compact car, one side badly dented, it's windshield cracked. Prodding his ribs roughly with the rifle Katherine instructed Daryl to open the rear door. Reluctantly he did as she said. The shooting had stopped and he heard someone approaching at a run.

"Herds almost here, there's too many to shoot. We need to get out of here now" Liam panted as he skidded to a halt next to Katherine. She nodded at him in agreement.

"Take the kid" she ordered. At once Daryl tightened his grip on Judith, his eyes narrowing.

"Aint happening" he snarled.

"Who gave you any say in the matter?" Katherine levelled the rifle, aiming directly at the child.

"Hand her over or I'll kill her where she is"

Instinctively Daryl turned his body, angling Judith away from danger. Liam moved closer his hands reaching to snatch her away and Daryl's fist lashed out. As Liam lurched backwards, the momentum of the punch spun Daryl around and he ended up with his back to Katherine.

The first blow to the head caught him by surprise, knocking him to his knees, the second caused a flash of pain and then a sense of nothingness.

It was the noise that bought him round, groaning, snarling and the squeak of rotting fingers as they clawed at the glass. Daryl found himself laid out on the back seat of the car, his wrists bound and pulled above his head, lashed to the hand grip above the door. As he struggled to free himself he saw the wound on his chest had been slashed open again, his ripped shirt blood soaked. The smell of the blood had drawn the walkers and the car was bouncing and shaking as they tried frantically to get to him. The cracks on the windshield had spread under the weight of the bodies and he knew it wouldn't be long before the glass gave way completely.

Walkers were surrounding the little car, pounding on the windows and he saw the glass begin to give on the rear windshield. Small cracks appeared and began to run, tiny shards of glass falling onto him as he twisted against the ropes. As he watched a section of the laminated glass was ripped away and decaying fingers forced their way through the hole, rotting flesh peeling away from bone as they pulled at the broken edges, tirelessly trying to find a way in.

He was grateful that Judith was no longer with him, believing that Katherine would keep her alive until she found Rick and the others. He could only hope that his friends found the woman and child first and were able to save the little girl he loved like his own.

With a crash the windshield finally gave way and he watched in morbid fascination as two walkers began to crawl into the car, several others behind them scrambling to find a way in. Twisting round he managed to get his legs up and kicked out at the closet one. His foot made contact with the side of its head, slamming it against the passenger door window, his boot sinking into its soft skull, spraying his pants with brain tissue, blood and God only knows what else. The second one latched onto his leg, tugging it towards its gapping mouth as he tried to twist free.

Glass from the rear window showered over him as one of the walkers finally managed to force its arm into the vehicle. At once its grasping fingers tangled into his hair, dragging him back towards its blood stained mouth.

He closed his eyes, expecting to feel teeth sink into his flesh. Instead, suddenly, the pressure on his leg was gone, the walker disappearing backwards from the car. The grip in his hair relaxed and he couldn't help jumping when a severed arm landed on his lap. Over the noise of the walkers he could hear gunfire and shouting.

After what felt like forever it was finally quiet and he allowed himself a few deep breaths. The driver's door was yanked open and Michonne was leaning into the car, blood and ooze dripping off the katana held in front of her as she studied him.

"Wondered if we were going to find you in here" she commented as she used her blade to sever the ropes restraining him. Her eyes frantically scanned the car's interior.

"Where's Judith?" She demanded, as Daryl rubbed at his numb wrists. He didn't answer as he wrenched open the door and pulled his aching body from the vehicle, stumbling as he stepped over the bodies surrounding it.

"Daryl!"

The voice was unexpected but welcome. Daryl turned as Carol approached him, a beaming smile on her face as she reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand, running her thumb through the filth that coated it.

"You look terrible" she said softly, taking in every injury, her expression changing to one of concern.

"Where's Judith?" A rough voice demanded behind them . Rick was there, gun in one hand, red handled machete in the other, clothes and skin coated in gore.

"Where is she?" he almost yelled, eyes wild as he took in the scene around them.

Daryl couldn't meet his friend's eye as he mumbled a reply.

"Bitch took her" he risked a glance up, quickly looking down again at the expression he saw.

"You let her take my little girl?" Ricks voice was quiet, his tone accusing.

"Was pinned down by the herd, couldn't get away. Her and her man turned up, kept the walkers back but she smacked me over the head and took Asskicker. I tried to keep her safe" Daryl finally looked up, cringing when he saw the simmering anger mixed with fear in Rick's face. He felt all the old insecurities flood back, he'd failed once more, let people who relied on him down. It was Sophia and Beth all over again.

"I'll find her. She'll be following the trail to find you" Daryl tried to stand straight, tried to take a few steps but his legs wouldn't co-operate. He swayed slightly and leant on the car, hoping the dizziness would pass.

"Here" Carol was offering him some water, her hand on his arm as he took several deep swallows.

"When did you last eat?" The woman was in full mother hen mode as she rummaged in her pack, pulling a granola bar out handing it too him.

"Had some squirrel yesterday" he glanced at Michonne and she nodded in confirmation "and some crackers day before that. Don't remember what else"

"You gave me and Enid most of your meat. You've hardly had anything since we met up again" Carl was watching him in concern.

Carol left his side and went to where Rick was pacing impatiently.

"We need to go find Judith" He snarled "We need to go now"

Carol shook her head.

"I understand what you're saying" she started carefully "But look at the state of him. He needs to rest for a while, he needs to eat"

Rick finally looked at Daryl properly for the first time since finding him again. He took in the blood stained shirt, the filthy, ripped bandages that were barely covering the still healing burns on his arms. He saw the deep shadows under his eyes and the blood matted in his hair and lastly he saw the guilt on his friend's face. All of his anger left him as he recognised the expression of failure and he knew Daryl was blaming himself for losing Judith. As he watched he saw the man swallow the last of the granola bar and try to push himself to his feet, despite protests from both Carl and Michonne.

Quickly he moved to Daryl's side, pulling a can of fruit from his bag.

"Here" he said putting a firm hand on the man's shoulder, pushing him down again "Eat this" he ordered thrusting the now open can at Daryl.

"Gotta go find Jude" Daryl tried to protest, but the hand on his shoulder pinned him in place.

"No, you gotta eat and rest, get your strength back. Katherine wants to get to me, she needs Judith alive for that. We can take a few minutes break. We're all exhausted" Reluctantly Daryl sank back down, eating some of the fruit before offering the can to Carl.

"You eat it" the boy refused to accept "you need it more than me"

As he ate Michonne told how she and the teens had been fighting the walkers that attacked them on the road. Just as it seemed they were about to be overwhelmed Rick and Carol had arrived and saved them. They had followed the tracks made by the hoard that had followed him and Judith and arrived at the town, finding the car just as the first walkers broke through the windshield.

It was early evening and darkness was already creeping in. They decided to remain in the town for the night and pick up the trail at first light. Daryl had protested but finally Rick had convinced him that he'd be no good to them exhausted. He told the hunter that they all need to try and get some sleep so they were ready to fight for Judith when they found Katherine and her colleague. They broke into one of the buildings and made it secure, working out a watch rota and settling in for a long night.

Katherine was exhausted, she had no idea how heavy a baby could be, nor how loud. The child clutched to her chest was a dead weight as she squirmed and wriggled in the strange woman's arms. She was also wet and smelled pretty bad, causing Katherine to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Her screams had finally turned into soft whimpers as she tired herself out.

Not for the first time she was regretting shoving Liam into the pack of biters that had come at them. At the time it had seemed like the only thing to do. They were almost out of ammunition and had nowhere to run so the knife in his thigh and a hard shove to his back had been the only option. She'd barely registered his screams as she used the distraction of his death to save herself. Now she was working her way through the forest, following the road but keeping out of sight. She spent her time planning her revenge on Rick and the others from Alexandria, still blaming them for the destruction of the Wolves, conveniently forgetting that it was she who ordered the attack on the innocent town.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't hear the men approaching until it was too late.

"Well look what we got here boys" a gravelly voice drawled "I been hoping to run into you again for a long time, bitch"

Katherine's heart sank when the five men came into view and for the first time in months she felt a small prickle of fear.

Rick woke with a start, hand automatically reaching for the gun at his side.

"Dad, it's me!" Carl's voice was urgent as he shook his father's shoulder, trying to rouse him.

"Dad, you gotta get up" Carl shook him again as he tried to push the sleep away.

"It's Daryl, he's gone"

**Thanks for reading**

**xxxxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Thanks to those wonderful few who reviewed, followed and favourite this story- You are all lovely people.**

**xxxx**

Chapter 5

"He's gone"

At Carl's words Rick jolted awake, pushing himself to his feet as he glanced at his son.

"What do you mean gone? Gone where?" he demanded. Enid stepped hesitantly forward.

"He left a little while ago. Told me not to wake anyone and that we should all wait here for him. He said he'll bring Judith back" she swallowed hard, clearly nervous.

"I didn't know what to do, so I woke Carl and he said we should tell you"

Rick gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.

"You did the right thing" He began to gather his belongings "We have to go after him"

The commotion had woken Michonne and Carol and it wasn't long before they were on the road, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon.

Daryl moved quickly down the road, the crossbow Carol had returned to him back in its rightful place, ready in front of him as he followed the trail, obvious even in the darkness. Food, water and a couple of hours of sleep had revitalised him and he'd woken in the middle of the night deciding he could move faster and quieter on his own.

He waited until it was Enid's turn on watch, thinking he would be able to slip away from the teenage girl. Unfortunately she was better than he expected and she had challenged him as he tried to sneak away. He told her to keep her mouth shut and wait for him to bring Judith back but he was pretty sure she would've gone straight to Carl or Rick.

A mutilated mess on the road caught his attention and he left the shelter of the trees to check it out. The body had been torn apart, most of its soft tissue and flesh gone but it's head still turned towards him as he approached, its mouth opening and closing as it tried to drag itself towards him on fleshless arms. He realised it was the remains of the man he had seen in the town, the one that had tried to take Judith from him. A quick check of the surrounding area found no sign of either the baby or the woman, only several walker bodies, some with bullet holes in them, others clearly stabbed. He quickened his pace, desperate to catch up with his target.

The soft sound of a child crying and rough men's voices stopped him dead. Cautiously he crept forward, the smell of smoke on the air as he approached a small camp site.

Keeping himself hidden he squinted through the undergrowth. He could make out at least five armed men, circled around a hunched figure. Judith was to one side, whimpering softly as she lay in a plastic storage box, a pile of discarded cans dumped next to it.

Daryl moved closer, trying to make out what was being said. One man was clearly the leader and Daryl saw him raise his fist and strike the huddled figure, the sound of flesh hitting flesh loud in the night air. As the figure fell forward with a cry of pain Daryl saw it was Katherine. Her hands were bound in front of her and she was bleeding from several injuries to her face. Her jacket was gone and he saw cuts and burns on her exposed arms.

The man grabbed her hair and pulled her back up.

"This has been a long time comin' " he snarled "you think you could murder my brother and my friends and get away with it?" He struck her again, kicking her hard in the ribs as she fell.

"We took you in, taught you how to survive and you repaid us by killing and stealing" he tried to kick her again but she managed to roll out of reach, struggling back to her knees as she glared defiantly at him.

"Took me in?" her tone was incredulous "you slaughtered my group, took me and my sister by force, kept us, abused us for months and you expect me to be grateful" She stumbled to her feet, eyes not leaving the man as he circled her, a smirk on his face.

"I don't remember hearing too many complaints from your slut of a sister" he sneered " what was her name again?"

Daryl saw Katherine hesitate, swallowing hard before she replied.

"Melissa" she said softly "Her name was Melissa"

The man laughed, "Damn, that's right. Sweet, innocent, little Mel" He flashed a grin at the other men "I remember right she weren't innocent for long after we got hold of her"

Daryl saw the anger on Katherine's face as she launched herself at the laughing man, her bound hands catching him on the side of the head.

"She was 17 years old, you bastard" she screamed as two other men pulled her off, slamming her against the nearest tree.

"Still a wildcat, Katie" one of them taunted as he pressed himself against her. "Always liked that about you"

The commotion had disturbed Judith and now she began to cry, loud, gasping sobs as she let her discomfort known.

"Shut her up 'fore she draws the dead in" one of the men approached the temporary crib, stopping when he realised he didn't have a clue how to deal with a baby.

Daryl knew he had to move quickly, he had to get Judith away before she was harmed. Quietly he retreated back into the forest, melting into the undergrowth. Once he was a safe distance away he tucked the crossbow behind a large tree and covered it with moss and leaves. Once he was sure it was well hidden he made his way back to the camp, this time not hiding his approach. He stepped into the clearing, hands held out. At once he was facing four cocked weapons.

"Don't want no trouble" he told the men "just come for the kid"

"She yours then?" The leader stepped forward, lowering his gun slightly.

"She belongs to a friend o' mine, bitch there took her" Daryl kept his voice even "Let me take her, get her outta your hair 'for she calls them dead onto you"

"And what about our friend here, you want her as well?" The man indicated Katherine with a nod of his head.

Daryl shrugged "Don't care what you do to her, she aint my concern" He glanced over at the woman, still being held against the tree by the remaining man.

"She cost us our camp, lot of my group died 'cos of her"

The leader laughed "Seems like she makes a habit of pissing people off" He lowered his rifle and moved closer, eyeing Daryl up and down, deciding he didn't appear to be a threat.

"Names Colt" he said as he walked over to Judith, staring down at the still crying baby.

"You want the kid, what you got to trade for her?"

"Got nothing but what you see" Daryl shifted on his feet, trying to watch all the men as they encircled him.

"Lost everything when we lost our camp" he turned slowly as two of the men moved behind him, the third staying where he was.

"Just let me take her, you lot aint baby killers" he tried to reason with Colt, as the men drew ever closer.

At some unspoken command the three suddenly dropped their guns and lunged towards him. He managed to land a few punches before he was restrained, arms gripped tightly by two of the men, forced behind his back as the third removed the knife from his hip and patted him down, searching for hidden weapons.

"He's clean, nothing else on him" the man confirmed as he stepped away.

Colt looked at Judith, seemingly lost in thought.

"You're right, we aint baby killers" finally he looked up, nodding to his men who released Daryl's arms.

"We got your knife, you give me that cool, winged vest then you can take the brat and go" His cold eyes locked onto Daryl.

"We got a deal?"

Daryl gave a brief nod as he reluctantly shrugged out of his beloved vest, handing it to Colt.

"Take her and piss off, 'fore I change my mind" Colt was already turning away, his attention back on Katherine.

Daryl gathered Judith up, backing out of the small camp without taking his eyes off the men. As soon as he was out of sight he turned and ran.

"Jack, follow him, find out where his group is. See if they got anything worth taking" Colt ordered. With a grin Jack set off in pursuit.

He hadn't gone far when he found himself facing the wrong end of a crossbow, held by a smug looking redneck with a baby zipped inside his jacket.

"You really think I'd be dumb enough to walk in there tooled up and let you take my weapons?" Daryl gave him a tight lipped smirk. "Then not expect you to follow me?"

Jack tried to bring his gun up but didn't stand a chance. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Daryl pulled the bolt from the still body, wiping it clean on the man's shirt. He reset the crossbow, glancing down at Judith as she snuggled against him.

"Damn girl, you stink" he muttered "Need to get you back to yer Daddy so he can deal with it"

He turned, heading back to the town and the his group.

A distant, muffled cry of pain stopped him and he glanced back over his shoulder, towards the camp site. Shaking his head he moved away. A second cry stopped him again.

"Shit!" he exclaimed "Hell's wrong with me, Asskicker. Should know to leave well enough alone"

Against his best judgement he found himself heading in the opposite direction to the one he really wanted to go, retracing his steps back toward the group of men and their helpless captive.

**Thanks for reading**


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N A short chapter that explains a little more about Katherine's past and why she is how she is._**

**_Thanks to all who reviewed and followed the last chapter._**

_Chapter 6 - Katherine's story_

_Slumped against the tree, her arms forced behind her and bound tightly, the rope cutting into her flesh, Katherine let her mind drift away.__She thought of her baby sister, pretty, sweet little Melissa, only 17 years old when the world went to hell.__An image of the last time she saw her forced itself into her head and she allowed the anger to build up again, anything to push away the pain._

_When the dead had started eating the living the two of them had fled their home in Charleston, eventually joining a group met on the road leading from the city.__A decision was made to keep away from the cities and head for the mountains and after several days of travelling the group of 20 or so had found themselves at the __Devils Fork state park._

_It was ideal, the luxury holiday lodges__untouched and nestling on the shores of Lake Jocassee.__The lake was full of trout and smallmouth bass, the surrounding area alive with game.__They settled into a routine and life was as good as it could be in the circumstances._

_The isolation of the site and the fact that the undead rarely made it that far from populated areas made them relax, made them careless.__They weren't prepared when, six months or so after they arrived, the group of 15 armed men stormed into their little haven.__Less than two hours after their arrival the only ones left alive were Katherine, Melissa and another young woman, Sylvia.__It wasn't long before all three were wishing they were dead._

_Sylvia lasted only a few weeks before she took her own life.__She was being returned to the small storage shed the women were kept in when she grabbed a knife from the man escorting her back.__Before he could react she plunged the blade into his gut then yanked it out and slashed her own throat open.__The leader of the group, Curt, was the one to put a bullet in her head to stop her turning._

_After a couple of months the men stopped locking the two sisters up when they didn't need them.__To protect Melissa as much as she could Katherine had effectively seduced Curt into thinking she cared for him.__She played a good game and he began to trust her.__Along with his younger brother Colt, he began to teach them how to survive.__They showed them how to shoot and how to fight.__Pepe, a former member of a street gang in Miami showed them how to fight dirty with a knife._

_At night she would whisper sweet nothings in Curt's ear, little suggestions or plots and he would wake in the morning thinking they were his ideas.__He even killed one of his own men because Katherine didn't like the way he had treated Melissa._

_Eight months after they were taken they felt they were ready.__She had convinced Curt to let them accompany him and three others on a run into the small town of Salem.__They had plenty of game and fish but still needed fuel, ammunition and other non-perishable items. _

_Once in the town__it had been easy for her to separate Curt from the others, a suggestive look over her shoulder and a seductive swing of the hips as she sauntered away from him, heading up the stairs of the house they were searching and he followed her like a stray puppy.__He'd begun to pull his clothes off the second he was through the door, dropping his belt to the table at the side of the bed before letting Katherine push him onto his back.__She straddled him, leaning down for a kiss as she reached over and pulled his knife from its sheath._

_She had only planned to stab him once but all the pain and frustration of the last few months had surfaced __and when she finished she was covered in blood and he was a mangled, torn apart mess.__Using his discarded shirt she wiped most of the blood from her face and arms before taking his gun and heading downstairs. She found __the first man in the kitchen, searching the cabinets for food and she was on him before he even realised she was there.__A swipe of the knife across his throat and he was down.__She left him to bleed out as she set off to find her baby sister._

_Melissa was in the next house, the man that had taken her there dead at her feet, the bloody knife still clasped in her shaking hands.__Gently Katherine took it from her and they headed cautiously outside._

_There was no sign of the remaining man, so they headed for the truck they had arrived in.__As Katherine got behind the wheel the he appeared, his gun raised, his face twisted in fury as he fired at them._

_"__Murdering bitches!" he screamed as he fired again and again and Katherine heard the bullets strike the side of the truck.__She lifted the stolen gun and fired twice, the first shot missing but the second catching him in the chest, knocking him down.__She was about to fire again when she saw the first corpse stumble from a nearby store, closely followed by a second, then a third._

_She started the engine and drove away without a backwards glance._

_They had driven in silence for a few miles before Melissa spoke up._

_"__Katie, we need to stop" she said softly._

_"__Not yet, we need to put some distance between us and the rest of those assholes"__Katherine didn't look at her, just kept driving.__She convinced herself that if she didn't look what she knew had happened wouldn't be true._

_"__No, we need to stop now" Melissa voice was weak and pain filled "please"_

_Reluctantly she stopped and faced her beautiful baby sister.__The blood from the bullet wound stood out on her pale blue shirt as the young girl tried to apply pressure, to slow the bleeding, to stay alive._

_"__You have to get me out of the truck and leave me" she gasped, her face pale, her voice fading._

_"__I don't want to hurt you when I come back"_

_Fighting back the tears Katherine slipped from the cab and helped Melissa down from the vehicle.__She sat on the side of the road and cradled the girls head in her lap, stroking her hair as she slowly slipped away.__It wasn't long before her breathing became shallower and she smiled up at Katherine, her hand reaching up to wipe away the tears that were now escaping._

_"__At least you're safe now" she whispered, her hand dropping back "I love you big Sis" With a final sigh she drew her last breath, leaving Katherine alone on the side of the road._

_"__I love you too, little girl"_

_She did what was needed to stop Melissa from turning and buried her in a shallow grave just out of sight of the road.__Something broke in her that day and she became hard and emotionless, using people and taking what she wanted. _

_She stayed with the survivalist she met in the forest in his well -stocked cabin for several weeks, learning how to hunt , track and dress her catches.__When he demanded repayment for his lessons she killed him, living in the remote cabin until the supplies ran out before heading into the next town. _

_That's when she ran into the Wolves. _

_They were disorganised with a weak leader and it wasn't long before she was in his bed and effectively running the gang, using him as nothing more than a mouthpiece for her plans.__Once the others realised what was going on he was dead and she was firmly in charge._

_No one was going to hurt her again._

**_Thanks for reading._**

**_Hope you enjoyed it._**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Gutted by the disappointing response to the last chapter, genuinely thought people would like to see what made Katherine the way she is. Back to the story with this one, just a little shorter than usual.**

**Enjoy and thanks for reading**

**xxx**

Chapter 7

Katherine jolted awake with a start, briefly forgetting where she was. The pain in her battered body and the roughness of the tree back at her back reminded her soon enough. She glanced around the makeshift camp, noting only three of the five men were present. Seeing she was awake Colt ambled over, dropping to his knees next to her, shoving a bottle of tepid water in her face.

"Drink up" he commanded "Don't want you dyin' of thirst on us now do we?" She took a few gulps, resisting the temptation to spit it back in his face.

"Derek an' Zeke are out hunting. When they get back we're all gonna have us a fun time tonight" he promised, reaching out and wiping a drop of water from her lower lip with his thumb.

"Bet that'll bring back some memories, eh darlin'?" he taunted as he rose, sauntering away.

She scanned the area, taking note of where the weapons were stored, where the vehicles were parked and how many were on watch at any time, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Rustling in the undergrowth caught Colt's attention. He moved to investigate, giving a sigh of relief and turning away at the familiar figure of Zeke coming through the trees.

"The hell you doin' back so soon?" he demanded "Can't tell me you already caught enough to feed us all"

The cry of warning from the other's came just too late. The figure that had once been Zeke lurched forward and sank its teeth into Colt's arm, tearing out a huge chunk of flesh. He had time to notice the small round wound in Zeke's chest before bullet struck it in the temple. He saw the gun swing round, now pointing directly at him.

"What the f…..?" He started as he stared in disbelief at the man he once considered a friend, now aiming a weapon at his head.

"Sorry man, but you're infected, aint got a choice" Colt thought he heard a woman laugh as he saw the man's finger tighten on the trigger, he heard the shot, saw a blinding light and knew no more.

"Shit" the two remaining men stared at each other in shock.

"What the hell just happened?" the younger one was on edge as he scanned the surrounding trees.

"You think they got Derek as well?" he stammered. A soft groan behind him made him turn, just in time to see his last remaining colleague fall, a bolt protruding from his throat.

Almost sobbing in fear he desperately searched for the unknown assailant. He didn't see a thing until the bolt pierced his chest, plunging deep into his heart. The last thing he saw was a tall man with a crossbow in his hands and a baby tucked against his chest step from the treeline.

Katherine watched as Daryl approached her, stopping long enough to scoop up a knife from Colt's body. She tensed as he stood over her, the indecision clear on his face. Finally he dropped the knife at her side.

"I see you anywhere near me or mine again and I'll shoot you where you stand" he threatened as he pulled his vest from Colt's body, happily shrugging it back on. Quickly he gathered up several cans of food and some water, as well as a couple of rifles, stuffing what he could into a backpack.

"You best get a move on" he commented, nodding at Zeke's body "The other asshole's still out in the forest and those two aint got head wounds. They'll be back anytime soon" He smirked to himself as he turned away, hearing her torrent of curses as she reached for the knife, just managing to grasp it with her fingertips and inch it towards her.

He only gone a few miles when the sky darkened and the first heavy drops of rain fell. Within minutes it was a full blown thunder storm and he was soaked through. Judith was wailing in distress and he knew he had to find somewhere to wait out the storm.

Quarter of a mile or so later he came to an overturned RV on the side of the road. Ivy and other plant life were already encroaching it, nature slowly reclaiming the planet for itself.

Daryl scrambled up onto the top of the vehicle, finding the door wedged shut by the invading plant life. Quickly he hacked his way through and forced open the narrow door. He listened carefully, making sure the interior was empty before dropping inside and pulling the door closed again.

Once he had checked it out thoroughly he allowed himself to relax. He slipped out of the wet jacket and vest, draping them over a chair to dry out, then lay Judith on a dusty blanket he found in the small bedroom. He pulled off the soaked and soiled diaper, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he opened the door long enough to toss it as far away as possible.

"Damn girl, how does something so small smell so bad?" he tickled her tummy as she giggled and waved her now free legs in the air. A brief search found a couple of fairly clean towels and a roll of sticky tape. Using one of the towels and a little water he awkwardly cleaned her up as best he could before using the second towel to fashion a makeshift diaper, held together with almost endless amounts of tape. He gave a satisfied sigh of relief when he held her up and it didn't instantly fall off.

Another search found some cutlery and a chipped bowl and he mashed some canned peaches from the supply he'd taken from the men. He settled back on a pile of chair cushions with the hungry child on his lap and fed her the squishy fruit. Once she was satisfied she gave a loud burp and promptly fell asleep.

"Wish it was always that easy" he muttered as he placed her on the pile of cushions, covering her with the blanket.

The soothing sound of rain on the RV roof and the events of the last few days finally caught up with him and he found himself slipping into much needed sleep.

He awoke to find the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against his neck.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N This chapter has been a nightmare to write and I'm still not happy with it but wanted to get something posted. **

**Thanks to hossfan, kilema and guest for the lovely reviews, I hope you are still reading after this chapter, everything that happens is done for a reason, so please stay with me even if you don't like it.**

**Extra thanks to Lizziekat15 for putting the idea into my head in the first place, I just wish I could have done it better.**

Chapter 8

Daryl's glanced at Judith, checking she was okay. She was still sleeping, thumb tucked tightly in her mouth as she snored gently.

He shifted slightly, assessing the situation when, suddenly, the gun was removed from his neck.

"You're lucky I feel like I owe you" Katherine stepped into view, clothes soaked and wet hair plastered to her head, as she tucked the gun back into her waistband.

"Even if it wasn't the greatest rescue ever, I guess I got out because of you" she glanced around the messy, overturned RV's interior.

"I didn't shoot you while you slept so now you can consider us even" She told him as she kicked debris and broken crockery to one side, clearing a space.

"Thought I told you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again" Daryl snarled, his hand closing over the hilt of his knife, watching as she settled on the floor and reached for her bag.

"Don't be like that. I was just looking for shelter, didn't even know you were in here" she pulled out a couple of cans, glancing up at him.

"You eaten?"

When he shook his head she tossed a can towards him, smiling when he automatically reached out and caught it.

"You can have that one, lost its label, could be cat food for all I know" she told him as she tucked into the contents of her own tin.

Silently they ate, both eyeing the other , still not trusting one another. Katherine tossed her empty can to one side and rose, stretching her back with a groan, revealing several fresh bruises on her stomach and sides. Daryl averted his gaze when he saw her staring at him, her expression unreadable.

She took a few steps towards the sleeping baby and at once he was on his feet, blocking her way, his hand back on his knife.

"I just wanted to see if she was okay" she said softly, smiling at the makeshift diaper. Her eyes met his.

"I wouldn't have hurt her you know. I've done a lot of bad things but I've never hurt a child" she turned and moved away, stopping when she heard his angry snort.

"You trashed that town, drove everyone outta it" He growled at her "There's kids, women and old folks out on the road now, nowhere to go 'cos of you and your group. How's that not hurting kids?"

She rounded on him, jabbing his chest with a finger.

"If you'd all co-operated we'd all be living there now. It was big enough for everyone"

He gave a hollow laugh "You forgetting how you came in with guns blazing and a truck full o' walkers. Course we was gonna fight back"

"All you had to do was surrender, we would have let you live" she countered, adding after a slight hesitation.

"Well, most of you"

"You and yours killed a lot of good people" He was in her face now "tryin' to take somethin' that wasn't yours to take"

They were glaring at each other, both furious so he really wasn't expecting it when she grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him closer before slamming her lips onto his in a brutal, violent kiss. With a muffled curse her shoved her back, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Hell you doin'?" he snarled.

She gave a seductive smile, running her tongue over her bottom lip.

"What do you think?" her eyes were predatory as they raked over him and he found himself wondering if that was how the deer felt in that brief moment before his bolt struck it. She smiled again as she saw the nervous way he shifted on his feet, the way he wouldn't look at her, the way he took a step back for every one she took forward.

"What's the matter?" she purred "Don't you like women?"

His head shot up, his expression angry.

"I like women fine" he snapped "maybe it's you I don't like"

Katherine laughed out loud "I find that hard to believe" she said arrogantly "Why else did you come back?"

"Went back for the vest" he tried "Couldn't give a damn 'bout you"

"And yet you gave me the means to escape" she took a final step forward as his back hit the wall and he could retreat no further in the enclosed space.

"Now you're running from me" she closed the space between them. "What are you scared of?"

He straightened up as he faced her, noticing how her eyes got even darker when she was angry and how her long hair curled softly now it was dry from the rain.

"I aint scared of nothin'" he countered, making himself hold her stare.

"Prove it" she said softly, running her hand slowly down his arm.

At her touch his restraint went, weeks of frustration, pain and loss catching up as he reached out, grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her head back as he bent and kissed her roughly, needing to feel something, anything, to forget the last few weeks even if it was just for a short while.

At once her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling into his hair as she pressed herself against him, returning the kiss with equal force. He twisted them round, slamming her back against the wall, his free hand working its way under her top, running over her warm skin. He felt her hand reaching for the buttons on his shirt and caught hold of her wrist.

"Leave it" he mumbled, distracted as she began to kiss along his jaw, grazing his skin with her teeth, her hands sliding over his chest, gradually moving lower. He bit back the groan when her exploring fingers reached his waistband and she began to slowly unbuckle his belt. Hearing her breath quicken he realised his own hands were doing the same with her, both quickly removing the barriers between them.

"Still don't like you" he mumbled into her neck as she moved against him and the time for talking was past.

It was rough and fast, no love or romance, just a release of frustration and anger on his part, a need for control on hers and afterwards they dressed in silence, neither feeling the need to speak. Daryl stole glances at Katherine, feeling a slight sense of shame at his uncharacteristic lack of restraint. She was the bitch who had cost them the safest place they'd found since the outbreak and he'd been all over her. He cursed quietly as he vowed it would never happen again.

The rain had finally stopped and they began to gather their belongings.

"We should stick together" Katherine suddenly broke the silence "You'd do better without Rick and the others. They just use you for the muscle, to hunt for them, to do the jobs no one else wants" She reached for him, her hand cupping his face.

"We'd make a good team"

"There aint no we " He jerked away from her, putting space between them "That shouldn't have happened, it aint happening again"

"It could" she glanced over at him coyly. "You come with me and it could happen whenever you want"

People always under estimated Daryl's intelligence, he knew himself he wasn't always the fastest on the uptake but he knew when he was being played. He saw straight through her, knowing she was trying to manipulate him, trying to keep the group split, using herself as a form of bait.

"You best get outta here while you can" He scooped up her bag and threw it at her "When I get Judith back to Rick he's gonna want to come after you and I aint gonna try and stop him"

Katherine was surprised by his rejection and indifference, she'd survived so far by making similar deals, no man had turned her down before. She decided it probably would be a good idea to get some distance between them, she had no doubt Rick would want to get some form of payback on her for taking Judith.

"Which way are you going?" she pulled on her jacket and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Just so I know to go in the other direction"

"South, doubling back to meet up with the others" he told her. "Still mean it, you show your face anywhere near us and I'll kill you myself" he told her coldly.

"I know" she replied simply.

Daryl pulled himself up, shoving open the door before scrambling outside. He reached down as Katherine passed his bag up, then carefully lifted Judith, handing the child to him. He leant down one last time, grasping her outstretched hand and pulled her up.

Once they were on the road they set off in opposite directions without a word or a backwards glance.

She walked for a few miles, keeping to the edge of the pavement, ready to dash for cover if needed. The sound of a car engine made her dive for the trees. Ducking into the undergrowth she watched as a small car sped past her. Once it was out of sight she climbed back to her feet, waiting a few moments to make sure it didn't return.

She'd only taken a couple of steps when the curved blade slid lightly in front of her throat, the pressure firm but not quite enough to break the skin.

The woman's voice was soft but deadly.

"We've been looking for you" The blade pressed harder and she felt a small trickle of blood run down her neck.

"Where's Judith?"

**Thanks for reading,.**

**Chapter 9 is almost finished.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Thanks to the two lovely guests and to WaveSayHi for the kind reviews. I'm glad you still hate Katherine and hope you dislike her even more after this chapter!**

**Only 1 or maybe 2 more chapters left.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**xxx**

Chapter 9

It was cramped, hot and uncomfortable in the trunk of the little car and Katherine's aching body felt every bump in the road, every jolt the vehicle made on the journey back to the hotel.

Michonne had used sword and attitude to force her back to the roadside, where Rick was pacing impatiently. The car was reversing back towards them, Carol at the wheel, Carl and Enid staring anxiously through the rear windshield. As soon as he saw the two women Rick darted forward, grabbing her arm, pulling her so abruptly she almost fell.

"Where is she" he demanded "What have you done with my daughter?"

Katherine thought about lying, thought about telling him how she'd fed his infant child to the undead but her instinct for self-preservation kicked in and she told him the truth, telling them Daryl was heading back, expecting to find them.

They had piled into the car and it hadn't taken long to find the man and chid. Daryl had made good time and was almost back to the town and even Katherine had to admit the reunions between father and daughter, brother and sister were pretty touching.

They discussed her like she wasn't there, deciding to take her with them. Daryl objected strenuously and Rick had to push the crossbow to one side when the hunter aimed it at her, threatening to shoot her there and then.

"If we let Deanna and the others see her face some kind of trial and receive punishment for what she's done , it might help them move on from losing everything. We all know they still believe in the old ways" Rick declared as Katherine shook her head in disbelief.

"Why not let him shoot me now? Save us all a whole lot of time and trouble" she piped up, feigning boredom with the situation.

"Aint nobody asking what you think, so keep your mouth shut" Daryl snapped, not even glancing in her direction. She knew he was regretting what had happened between them and guessed he was concerned she would mention it to the others. She had already decided to keep the information to herself, to save it until she could use it in her favour. She liked the thought of having something she could hold over him at some point in the future.

Now they were all together again the car was full and Katherine was forced into the trunk. Carl was more than happy to have Enid squashed on his lap, even if it was under his father's watchful eye.

The return trip to the hotel was short and uneventful, Maggie and Glen first out the door to greet them. Much to Daryl's embarrassment, and everyone else's amusement, Maggie took one look, burst into tears and threw herself at him.

"We thought you were dead" she was crying and laughing at the same time as she hugged him tight. "We made a marker for you, put it next to Abrahams"

The fallen soldiers name made Daryl look round, searching for Rosita. She was standing with Tara, pale and tired, and he went to her side, mumbling a few awkward words of sympathy. He'd never been good at knowing what to say but must have said something right as she managed a weak smile and touched his arm gently.

"Thank you, I'm glad you made it. We missed you" she told him tearfully.

Once everyone was reunited Katherine was pulled from the trunk. Rick kept a tight grip on her arm as he pulled her into the hotel. Word spread quickly about the captive and soon a crowd had gathered. She could feel the anger that was directed towards her and embraced it. She stood tall, a smirk on her face, a swagger in her step as Rick escorted her into the building.

A middle-aged woman launched herself from the crowd, her hands clawing at Katherine.

"My husband died because of you" she screamed as she tried to get past Rick.

Katherine laughed in her face.

"I did you a favour, honey" she said sweetly "I saved you the humiliation of him leaving your dried up, skanky old ass for something younger and better looking"

It took both Daryl and Spencer to keep the older woman back as Rick hurried her away. He pulled open the door to a storeroom near the hotel kitchens and shoved her roughly inside. Carol threw a dusty blanket and grubby pillow at her feet, leaving again without saying a word.

"There'll be someone on guard outside at all times. The plan is to give you a fair trial but they will be told to shoot if you try to escape"

She shrugged "You're going to kill me anyway, so what difference does it make?"

Rick studied her for a few seconds before replying.

"It doesn't really" he confirmed as he closed and locked the door behind him.

Katherine searched the small room, looking for anything that might help her escape but it had been stripped bare. She paced impatiently for a while as she waited, knowing she was going to die soon. She couldn't see the point of a trial, she already knew the outcome, the evidence was stacked against her, even she had to admit it was pretty damning. Finally she spread the blanket out and lay down, resting her head on the pillow, forcing herself to focus, trying to find a way out.

A while passed before the door opened again and Rick slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. She noticed he was weaponless as she scrambled to her feet, glaring at him defiantly.

"You think you don't need to defend yourself against me?" She asked with a smirk, indicating the empty holster at his hip.

"It's more to stop you trying to take it from me" he told her honestly, resting a shoulder against the wall and folding his arms over his chest.

He watched her silently for a while, employing an old police interrogation tactic, knowing it made people uncomfortable to be stared at for any length of time. She stared back, refusing to look away and he found himself shifting his position and having to fight the urge to be the first to break eye contact. Eventually he was the one to speak, not missing the small, triumphant grin as she turned away.

"Are there any more of your group left out there?" He questioned "Do we have to worry about them coming after us?"

She gave an unladylike snort of laughter "You really believe I'd tell you if there were?"

Rick gave her a tired smile "Not really, Deanna just wanted me to ask, now I can say I have" he turned to the door, preparing to leave.

"The trial will be tonight. Deanna wants to let everyone hear the evidence and then take a vote on the verdict, majority wins" he told her as he reached for the door handle.

"Rick"

It was the first time she'd called him by his name, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it and he turned to face her again, surprised to see her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"I wasn't always like this you know?" She wiped her eyes before continuing " Before all this started I was a good person, never hurt anyone or anything, helped old ladies across the road, did volunteer work for an animal charity, you know the sort of thing. When it all went bad I left the city with my baby sister, she was 10 years younger than me, still not much more than a child. I had to keep her safe" her tear filled eyes met his and he couldn't help taking a few steps closer.

"You know what it's like, you love your kids and you'd do anything for them. Even if you knew it was wrong you'd do what you had to, to protect them, wouldn't you?" He nodded, the memory of tearing Joe's throat out with his teeth making him feel nauseous even after all this time.

"That's what it was like for me with Melissa; I had to change to look out for her. I did so many things I didn't want to, so many bad things. I had to bottle everything up inside me and when she died it was too late for me to change back" Katherine saw his expression change, saw the sympathy there and knew she had him. She moved closer, allowing a few tears to fall.

"Once she was gone I had nothing to live for, but I didn't want to die. I was reckless and selfish, full of anger and bitterness. I'd do anything to be able to go back, to be myself again"

She was just a few feet away from him, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from her sad, dark eyes.

She dropped her gaze and gave him a small, watery smile "You're a good man, I wish me and Melissa had run into someone like you rather than the men we did"

Without thinking he reached out and brushed the tear from her cheek with his thumb, his fingers lingering on her face as she moved even closer.

"This is so easy" Katherine thought as she let her hand drift up his chest "a few tears and he's mine"

Rick felt her grip his shirt and knew he should push her away but she was so warm and soft against him and it had been a long time since he'd had a woman in his arms. He wasn't doing anything wrong, just offering her some comfort; after all she would probably be dead in a few hours.

She pushed herself against him, the length of her body flush with his. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled his face down to hers. Her mouth moulded against his, at first gentle, quickly becoming more demanding and he couldn't help but respond. Her hands fell from his hair, sliding slowly down his back, caressing and stroking as they made their way down.

He felt her fingers dig into the flesh of his hips, pulling him even closer, before they moved under his shirt to his stomach, her nails lightly raking over the skin. Rick couldn't help the muffled groan as he felt her fingertips dip under his belt, a light teasing touch that had his body responding instantly.

He stumbled slightly, instantly missing the contact when she pulled away abruptly, running her fingers through her hair as she put some distance between them.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that" she kept her back to him, hiding her expression as she heard him clear his throat, shifting uncomfortably. She knew exactly what effect she'd had on him.

"I know all those people out there want me dead and I don't blame them." She turned to face him, keeping her eyes downcast.

"I guess I just wanted to forget that they all hate me, a last distraction" she raised her eyes, meeting his dead on and Rick thought he saw fear there.

Katherine turned away again, moving to the blanket she'd laid out on the floor earlier. She lowered herself to it, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her forehead on her arms, her back against the wall. She waited and wasn't surprised when Rick crouched next to her. He reached out and caught her jaw, gently lifting her head.

"You attacked us, destroyed our homes, killed our people. You gave me no choice" he released his hold on her and started to rise. Quickly she reached out and caught his wrist.

"I'm sorry" she let the tears flow, knowing this was her last chance. "I'm sorry I tried to hurt your children, sorry I hurt your friends" she wiped her eyes, "I understand you're doing what you think is right. If killing me gives you closure then you should do it"

She saw the sudden doubt in his face, knew he was wondering if he was doing the right thing.

"I understand but I'm still scared" she let go of his wrist "I don't want to die"

The brief look of compassion he tried to hide was all she needed. With a sudden move she pulled him down to her, kissing him again, this time softly.

"Please, can you help me?" she pulled away, giving him a sultry smile.

"We could take your children and leave. The people here don't appreciate you . They're looking to you to care for them because they don't know how to for themselves. You told me when I first arrived how they almost cast you out again when you got to Alexandria. How they thought you were all a pack of savages"

Rick looked into her face, actually considering what she said. He was tired of leading, tired of making all the decisions, of being the one people turned to whenever they had a problem.

One of her hands was on his leg just above his knee, her thumb making small caressing movements on his inner thigh, the distraction making it difficult to think straight. Her other hand slipped under his shirt, running over his back. He felt her move backwards, the hand on his back bringing him with her as she lay back on the blanket. He knew he should pull away but her touch felt too good and he allowed himself to be pulled down. His mouth found hers and his exploring hand gripped her thigh pulling her leg over his.

His other hand was just reaching for her shirt buttons when the door slammed open.

**Chapter 10 is almost done and will be posted in a day or so.**

**xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**Thanks to DarylDixonsLover, Guest and Kilema for the kind reviews.**

Chapter 10

"Jesus Rick! Get a hold of yerself" Daryl cringed at his unfortunate choice of words as he took in the sight in front of him. Quickly he pulled the door shut to prevent others seeing what was going on in the small storeroom.

Face burning with a mixture of frustration and embarrassment Rick untangled himself from Katherine, scrambling to his feet, tugging at his half unbuttoned shirt.

"Can't you see the bitch is playin' yer" Daryl took a few steps toward them, gaze locked on Katherine as she remained lying on the blanket, propped up on her elbows, familiar smirk back in place.

"It's what she does. She'll screw you to get what she wants then probably kill you when she don't need you no more" he finally risked a look at Rick, relieved to see he'd sorted his clothing out as he struggled to regain his composure.

"Maybe you'd like to join us" Katherine taunted, laughing at the disgusted look he shot her.

"You didn't have any problems with me back at that RV" she countered, enjoying the shocked look Rick gave him.

Daryl grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him from the room, away from the manipulating woman and the sound of her mocking laughter.

Carol was on guard duty and Rick stopped to speak to her.

"Nobody goes in that room alone" He instructed as she gave him a puzzled look.

"Why? She not that dangerous, not without the Wolves behind her" she frowned, noticing his flushed expression and awkward movements.

"Believe me, it's better if no one is alone with her, especially a man" Rick strode away before Carol could comment further. He didn't see her grin as she worked it out for herself.

The two men didn't speak again until they were outside and away from prying eyes and ears. Daryl lit one of his last cigarettes, pulling on it as he waited for the inevitable question. He didn't have to wait long.

"So, what exactly happened in this RV?" Rick asked casually as he stared straight ahead, still unable to meet his friend's eye.

"Bitch tried to get me to leave you lot and run off with her" he mumbled, hoping Rick would drop the subject, knowing he wouldn't.

"How?" The deputy asked and Daryl was sure he heard a hint of laughter in the question.

Rick watched as Daryl suddenly developed a lot of interest in the ground by his feet. Even in the late afternoon light he was sure the man's face was red as he took another long drag on the cigarette, still refusing to answer the question.

"Oh my God" he exclaimed suddenly getting it "You're telling me you crashed in there and cock-blocked me when you've already been there, done that?" Rick was laughing out loud now "and I thought we were friends"

He saw the slight twitch of Daryl's lips and knew he was seeing the funny side as well.

"How did she manage to get to you?" Rick asked, suddenly curious.

Daryl finally looked up from the ground.

"She pissed me off" he said sheepishly "picked a fight, all but jumped me and it kinda went from there" he nodded at Rick

"How 'bout you?" he asked.

"She cried" Rick admitted "Told some sob story about a dead sister. Always was a sucker for tears. All Lori had to do to win a row was turn on the waterworks and that was it, I was done" he shook his head "pathetic really"

They were both quiet for a moment, not really needing to speak.

" She said we should take my kids and go, just the four of us. Gotta say she made it sound tempting" Rick finally admitted.

"Damn woman's good, aint surprised she's survived so long" Daryl dropped the cigarette stub and ground it out under his foot. "She knows what she's doin'"

Ricks snort of laughter made him jump.

"Okay man, it was good, you don't have to rub it in. I'm still suffering here" He laughed as they headed back inside to prepare for the trial.

Carol was bored guarding the door and decided to ignore Rick's order. She wanted to talk to Katherine, to try and find out where the Wolves base was on the off chance there were supplies, food and weapons left behind. She opened the door and slipped in.

Katherine was sitting on the floor, back against the wall again. She laughed when she saw Carol.

"Rick not coming back?" she asked "I thought we had some unfinished business"

Carol watched the younger woman with cold eyes,

"I don't know what happened in here but I can guess" she began "after all you're young, pretty and desperate to escape and he's a man. I'd say it was fairly obvious what you tried. Pity for you that Daryl arrived when he did"

Katherine's eyes narrowed "Yes it was. I should have worked out he wasn't the kind of man that would want to share" She saw the moment Carol realised what she was implying and knew what she suspected was right.

"Oh, are the two of you together?" she widened her eyes innocently " I had no idea, he didn't say a word. Mind you, there wasn't much time for small talk before he….."

"You're lying" Carol interrupted angrily "He wouldn't , not with someone like you"

Katherine gave her a sympathetic look.

"He may have those wings on his back but he's no angel. He couldn't wait to take what was offered. In fact I believe it was him that initiated it" she smiled again.

"You said it yourself, I'm young and pretty and he's a man. They're all the same"

Carol span on her heels and stormed from the room. Much as she would like there to be more, there was nothing but friendship between her and Daryl but she still somehow felt disappointed in him. She couldn't believe that he'd been taken in by Katherine's tricks and pretty face. The woman clearly knew exactly how to use what she had to get what she wanted, how else had she been able to make the Wolves follow her orders? Carol resumed her guard duty by the door and tried to push the resentment aside, to swallow back the irrational anger she suddenly felt towards Daryl.

Katherine was bought into the former restaurant of the hotel. The large room had been cleared of tables and was now being used for the trial. She'd been amused to see Rick had sent Maggie and Sasha to escort her from the storeroom, the two women armed and alert as they pushed her ahead of them. Her hands bound in front of her they made her stop in front of Deanna.

Rick was at the former congress woman's side, face impassive as he waited for her to speak. Scanning the room Katherine saw Daryl standing next to Carol. She saw him lean down to mutter something to her and smiled when the older woman glared at him briefly before stalking away, leaving him standing there confused.

She was aware Deanna was speaking now but tuned her out. The whole trial was a farce, just something to make killing her seem more acceptable. The people of Alexandria were still clinging to the old way of life and she believed it would get them all killed sooner rather than later.

"Have you anything to say in your defence?" Deanna was asking her and she realised she was supposed to speak. She wondered if they expected her to beg for forgiveness or plead for mercy.

Standing up straight she faced the crowded room.

"What can I say? You all saw me storm your town, shoot your people. You heard me order the house I knew a man was in to be firebombed. I caused your people to die and yes, I do have regrets. I regret that I didn't send in the geeks first to thin you out before I risked my men. I regret not just gunning you all down in the streets instead of waiting" she turned to face Rick "and I regret not hurling your child to the undead instead of keeping her safe"

Her voice was drowned out by the outraged shouts and cries and she turned to Deanna. Leaning close to the woman's ear she whispered.

"Are you sure you can trust Rick to lead you and keep your people safe? He only cares about his group. He sees your people as walker bait, something to keep the dead busy while they escape. At the first sign of trouble he'll abandon you all"

She saw the way Deanna frowned at Rick and knew she was still suspicious of him and his group.

"He tried to make a deal with me" Katherine continued, as she saw Maggie heading towards her.

"Said he'd help me escape if I was good to him, if you know what I mean" Maggie gripped her arm and pulled her roughly away.

"How can you trust a man like that?" she called as she was taken back to the storeroom.

The guilty verdict was unanimous and now the vote was for a suitable punishment.

"You have three options" Deanna explained "Write your choice on your slip of paper and place it into the box. Majority wins" She glanced around the room, before continuing.

"The choices are banishment, imprisonment or execution"

Katherine didn't bother getting up when the door opened and Deanna stood in the door way, Rick once again at her side.

"You've been found guilty and sentenced to execution" Deanna told her "All but one voted for your death, the other wanted imprisonment"

Katherine shrugged,

"I'm not exactly surprised. Who voted to keep me locked up?"

"It was a blind vote, so we don't know" Rick told her, although he was pretty sure it was Morgan. The man still considered all life to be precious, even that of someone that had killed many times.

"We don't want the gunshot to attract attention so you will be taken from here in the morning and the sentence carried out. As constable, Rick will be the one to do it. Myself, Spencer and Aaron will accompany him" Deanna explained.

"Whatever"

Katherine pulled the blanket up and wrapped it around her shoulders, turning away from them, not turning back until she heard the door close and the key turn in the lock.

It was a few sleepless hours later when she heard the first screams.

**Thanks for reading.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to DarylDixonslover, Guest and WaveSayHi for the amazing reviews, you're all brilliant.**

**This was only going to be 10 or 11 chapters long, but it just won't die.**

**Thanks for reading.**

Chapter 11

The screams quickly became louder and closer, shouts and gunshots all blending together in a deafening blur of chaos.

Several shots were fired from the other side of the door, the harsh bangs quickly followed by desperate cries, first of terror then changing to whimpers of pain before finally the only sound was the groans of walkers.

Katherine waited until she could no longer hear anything directly outside the storeroom before kicking at the door repeatedly, slamming her foot against the lock. The door was flimsy, not designed to withstand a prolonged attack and it wasn't long before she was outside.

The body in the corridor was so mutilated she could no longer tell if it had been male or female. Swallowing back the bile she retrieved a rifle from a pile of gore. She took the knife that was still embedded in a walkers head and wiped the blood and brain matter off the handle. Checking the weapon she found only 4 bullets left in the magazine.

"Have to do" she muttered as she crept down the corridor. She could hear frantic shouts and terrified screams as the survivors battled the herd that had come across the hotel.

Once again the incompetent people of Alexandria had messed up. The man on watch had fallen asleep and a woman had slipped outside for a last cigarette of the night without bothering to secure the door behind her. She'd been the first to go and then the walkers were inside the building.

Katherine saw Aaron as he tried desperately to protect Eric, his broken ankle still making him slow and clumsy. She saw Jessie defending her children, armed only with a knife, until Sasha appeared at her side, silenced assault rifle firing repeatedly as she tried to hold the advancing hoard back.

Sliding silently around the edge of the battle, only using the knife when absolutely necessary, Katherine made her way to the lobby and the nearest exit. Most of the herd had found its way inside, following the smell of living flesh and the sounds of the oblivious people inside.

She worked her way through the hotel lobby and was almost at the exit when she heard the distinctive cry of a baby. Instinctively she looked towards the sound.

Carl had Judith cradled against his chest as he fired again and again at the walkers surrounding him. His back was against the wall and he had nowhere to run. She saw the look of terror cross his face as he pulled the trigger and nothing happened. The closest walker reached him and he used the now empty weapon as a club, trying to smash its frail skull. By the time the first one was down three others were on him with more heading in his direction, drawn by the baby's terrified screams.

He kicked one on the back of its knee and it fell, its leg now twisted at an impossible angle as it continued to drag itself towards them. Quickly he stamped down, crushing it's skull . Another reached out for him and he used his free arm to push it back.

Katherine hesitated in the doorway, glancing around the immediate area. There was no one in a position to help. As she watched she saw Carl's body slump in despair. He bought his hand up and cupped Judith's head, kissing her downy hair as he pulled her closer to him. He turned, putting himself between the baby and the approaching walkers, curling himself around her in a last desperate attempt to save his baby sister. She saw the tears on his face as he mouthed comforting words to her. The closest walker's fingers closed around his jacket, trying to yank him back.

She stepped through the door, almost free, but found she couldn't leave. Carl was only a few years younger than Melissa when she had died and Judith was only just beginning her life. She had to do something.

With a curse she raised the gun firing one of her precious bullets and the walker pulling at Carl dropped, closely followed by the second. Carl raised his head cautiously in time to see Katherine striding across the hotel lobby. The gun in her hand flashed and two more walkers fell. He saw her toss the now useless gun to the side and wade in, knife flashing.

More walkers were swarming into the lobby and she fought hard to clear a way to the cowering pair. Finally she grabbed Carl by the collar and hurled him to his feet.

"Stay behind me, first chance you get you run" she ordered. Having no choice he nodded, clinging to Judith as he stayed close.

Arms aching and chest heaving with exertion, Katherine finally managed to clear a space among the grasping bodies.

"Head for the door" she yelled. When Carl hesitated she gave him a hard shove.

"Now! Run outside and find somewhere to hide. Wait for your father, you know he'll find you" she ordered.

Carl gave her a grateful nod, mouthing a quick thank you as he ran, avoiding a reaching walker as he headed for the door.

Katherine's relief at seeing him reach relative safety turned to fear as the remaining walkers closed in on her. She killed another two but there were still at least five more left. She swung her knife at the closest but her foot slipped in a pile of entrails spilt over the floor and she went down.

The walker fell on her, his decaying hands pinning her down as it lowered its head. She felt its rancid breath on her face as she stared at the W carved on its forehead, the irony not lost on her. It's yellowing teeth were brushing against her cheek when the bolt pierced its head, the tip slicing straight through, missing her eye by millimetres.

As she shoved it to one side and scrambled to her feet she saw Daryl across the lobby, Carl, now armed with a machete, behind him. As she watched he fired again and another walker close to her dropped.

Daryl swung the heavy crossbow, smashing it into the skull of what was once a young man. He used his knife to take out two more. He'd made it outside after managing to get Deanna, Spencer and a couple of other Alexandrians into one of the vehicles. As he turned to re-enter the fray Carl had staggered out, Judith in his arms.

"Katie's in there" the boy gasped "She came back to save us and now she's in trouble" He'd handed the baby to Deanna for safekeeping and snatched up a machete from a body, determined to go back in to help. Daryl had no choice but to follow.

Katherine had been on her back, a walker on top of her and he'd automatically fired. He saw her shove it off and climb slowly to her feet. He took out another close to her and then another wave of walkers had come and he'd lost sight of the woman.

Hours later the battle was over, the survivors on the road once more. There had been too many walkers and the hotel had been abandoned. People were crushed into what vehicles they had managed to salvage and they had driven away without a backwards glance.

Eventually they had stopped, exhausted and traumatised, most still in a state of shock as they tried to comprehend what had happened. Rick moved among them, trying to assess how many they had lost.

Rosita told him she had seen Father Gabriel over whelmed by the hoard, as he knelt, hands clasped together in prayer.

"He didn't even try to fight, it was like he'd just given up" she told him tearfully. Rick found he wasn't surprised, the Priest had never coped very well with this changed world. He hoped he was at peace now.

Eugene had been killed when, in a sudden unprecedented act of courage, he'd put himself between a walker and Tara as she fought off another. The first bite bought him to his knees and Tara had been unable to do a thing as he was eaten alive in front of her. She was still crying as Maggie and Glenn tried to comfort her.

Rick saw Aaron, sitting on the side of the road, Deanna next to him, her arm wrapped around his shoulders as he grieved for his lost lover. Despite his best efforts he'd been unable to keep Eric safe, there'd been so many walkers and he'd been helpless to stop them closing in around the injured man. The terrified, pained screams still echoed in his head as he leant into the older woman's embrace.

Carol and Sasha were with Jessie and Rick tried to block her heart wrenching sobs out as she cried for her eldest son, clutching Sam to her, as he stared ahead blankly, wide eyed and silent.

Carl was with Enid, the two teens clinging to each other and Rick found himself grateful that Carl could find some comfort with the girl, while at the same time vowing to keep a watchful eye on the two teenagers.

Of the thirty-eight that had fled Alexandria after the Wolves attack only nineteen had made it from the hotel.

He started when Daryl seemed to materialise behind him, he always forgot how silently the hunter could move, even when exhausted and covered in walker gore the man could just appear from nowhere.

"Aint no sign of anyone or anything following us" he stated as he held up two squirrels and a possum.

"Got dinner, s'not much but it'll feed the kids" Daryl crouched at the side of the road, skilfully gutting and skinning the small animals, preparing the meat to cook as Rick gathered enough twigs for a small fire.

As he watched his son and some of the more vulnerable survivors eat Rick thought once again about how much they relied on Daryl's hunting abilities.

"Pretty sure we'd all starve without him" he commented to Carol as she stood beside him. She barely had time to acknowledge his remark when the gunshot rang out.

They watched in horror as Daryl was thrown backwards by the impact of the bullet, landing on his back in a rapidly spreading pool of blood.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Bit of a filler chapter to move onto the next part of the story. Hope you enjoy.**

**Thanks once again to DarylDixon'sLover, Kilema and WaveSayHi for taking the time to review and to Pantherbabe4ever for following and favouriting.**

Chapter 12

As the echo of the gunshot died away people began to react. Rick lunged for Judith, snatching her from Maggie's arms as Glenn pushed his Wife and the child behind him. Aaron and Spencer were covering Deanna, surrounding her as they protected her from possible further attack.

Rosita and Carol headed for the motionless Daryl, Rosita pulling limited medical supplies from her bag, grateful she'd managed to snatch it up before they fled the hotel.

Sasha raised her gun, scanning the surrounding area and Morgan melted into the trees, staff in hand, Michonne not far behind him.

They returned several minutes later, sure there was no one nearby. Morgan told how they had found an area of flattened undergrowth, just out of sight of the road, a spent cartridge case laying nearby. Michonne swore she had heard an engine revving in the distance, but they had found no one and no sign of a vehicle.

A flurry of obscene language made them all aware Daryl had come round. The bullet had ploughed through his shoulder, the entry and exit wounds bleeding heavily.

"Must have been a high calibre rifle of some kind" Rosita explained "The impact's dislocated his shoulder. We need to put it back in" She glanced at Rick nervously.

"It's going to be painful, especially with the wound. We need to lay him down on something and I'll need someone to hold him still"

Rick nodded, remembering back to when Carol had reset the young man's arm on that terrible day he'd banished her from the prison. The same young man he'd seen brutally murdered at Terminus a few short weeks later.

"I can still hear you, I'm shot not deaf" Daryl was trying to get to his feet, grouchily shrugging off Carol's offer of help as he stumbled towards the cars.

He lay back on the hood of the nearest one, injured shoulder near the edge.

"Get on with it" he snapped "Aint the first time I had a shoulder pulled out. Jus' do it"

Rosita approached him warily, bunching up the strap of her bag and handing it to him.

"Bite down on this" she instructed as she gripped his arm. Rick and Glenn leant across him, holding him still as the tiny, Hispanic woman gave a sharp tug, manipulating his shoulder back into place. The bag straps swallowed up most of the foul language but Carl still couldn't hold back the snigger at the most inventive suggestions that escaped the hunter's mouth, getting him a stern look from his father.

Everyone was on edge, taking turns to keep watch as Rosita finished treating Daryl's injury, the exit wound requiring a few stitches before she covered it with a makeshift bandage, made from the sleeve of her shirt.

"It should really be in a sling for a few days" she told him "But I know you won't so I'm not even going to try. You will have to rest it for at least a week. No crossbow unless….." her voice trailed off at the dark look he gave her.

"Who the hell's gonna go out there and get us some game then?" he snarled "You?"

He felt bad when he saw her flinch at his tone and tried to soften his words.

"Just mean there aint a choice. No one else can hunt and we got to eat"

"I get that, it's just if you do too much too soon you'll damage it even more and it might never heal properly. You can't arm the bow with one hand and even if someone did it for you it's too heavy to hold up" Rosita explained as Rick approached them.

"You ready?" he asked apologetically "I want to get on the road again, I don't feel safe out in the open like this. We need to find shelter before nightfall"

They piled into the three cars they had managed to escape in. It was a squeeze to fit nineteen people into three vehicles but Carl and Enid were able to fit in the luggage area behind the rear seat of the station wagon, while Michonne held Judith and Maggie needed no prompting to squeeze next to Glenn as Rick drove and Daryl tried to get comfortable in the passenger seat.

Trying to lighten the mood Morgan declared himself probably the luckiest man left alive when he got behind the wheel of a four door sedan with Sasha, Tara and Rosita in the back, Carol in the passenger seat. Playing along, his vehicle was promptly dubbed 'The Harem' by Glenn, much to everyone's amusement.

The third vehicle contained Deanna, Spencer, Aaron and a young man called Jonathan. Jessie was huddled on the back seat, a still unresponsive Sam cradled against her side. Rick was sadly aware of the divide that still existed between his group and the original residents of Alexandria.

They drove for several miles before finally coming across a dilapidated farm house. The last of the light was almost gone and they decided to call it a day. Making a bad tempered Daryl remain in the car Rick, Glenn, Aaron and Jonathan worked their way through the building. They found two walkers, a lot of dust and nothing else.

They had no food or water, very limited weaponry and only a small amount of fuel left.

"We'll have to send a scouting party out in the morning" Rick announced "Maybe take one of the cars and see what's up ahead. We need to find more fuel from somewhere. We can't be on foot now. We're too weak"

Michonne, Morgan, Aaron and Glenn volunteered to go out at first light and settled down to try and get some rest, ignoring their empty stomachs and parched throats.

Unable to sleep Rick wandered outside and found Daryl on the veranda in front of the house, an unlit cigarette clamped between his lips.

"You need a light for that?" he asked as he searched his pockets for a match book.

Daryl shook his head.

"S'my last one, aint planning on lighting up, jus' used to the feel of having one there"

They were silent for a while, both scanning the surrounding area, both on edge.

"You think it was her that shot me?" Daryl asked suddenly.

Rick glanced at him.

"I think there's a damn good chance it was" he agreed.

"She could've killed me outright. I've seen her shoot, she's like a damn sniper. She wouldn't miss unless she chose to" Daryl carefully put the cigarette back in his pocket.

"I think she's playin' with us. We aint seen the last of that bitch"

Aside from Daryl and Carl, Rick was the only one that knew Katherine had escaped the hotel. They had decided to keep it from the others, thinking they already had enough to contend with. Now he was wondering if they should come clean, if they needed to warn them to be on the lookout for the vengeful, violent woman.

The door opened and Jonathan came out, ready to take watch for the rest of the night. Rick and Daryl headed inside to try and catch some sleep.

When they came out again at first light there was no sign of Jonathan and the tyres on all three vehicles had been slashed.

Resting on the trunk of the station wagon was a half full carton of cigarettes.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Thanks again to Daryldixon'sLover, Kilema and Guest for the reviews. **

Chapter 13

Sitting on the hood of her car Katherine smiled happily as she sipped from a bottle of water. She wished she could have seen the look on Rick's face when he found the trashed cars, but hadn't wanted to risk getting too close in the daylight.

She wondered if Daryl would actually smoke the cigarettes she'd left for him, she'd found the pack tucked into the door pocket of the car she'd escaped the hotel in. She was particularly pleased with that touch, as she actually felt bad about shooting him after he'd saved her again. She felt she had no choice though, she needed to disable the main provider for the group. She had to be sure they all suffered before she began to pick them off one by one, leaving Rick for last.

A noise from the trunk caught her attention and she slid from the hood, strolling to the back of the vehicle. Opening the lid she smiled down at the bound and gagged figure huddled inside.

"You're awake, don't worry, honey, you probably won't be in there for much longer" she told the struggling Jonathan as he stared up at her in terror.

Understandably the group were pissed when they found out that Katherine was free and that Rick and Daryl had known about it and had chosen not to tell them.

"How did she get out, she was locked up?" Carol demanded.

"I don't know" Rick admitted "all I do know is that she turned up just in time to save Carl and Judith, then in the confusion got away. To be honest she only had a knife, I didn't think she'd make it very far"

"Obviously she's got hold of at least one gun now" Spencer glanced at Daryl.

"No offence, but why didn't she kill you when she had the chance?" he asked.

Daryl shrugged automatically, flinching at the pain in his shoulder.

"Dunno, kinda figured she's just playin' at the moment. Tryin' to freak us out" he mumbled.

"Well it's working" Tara was nervous, leg twitching as she kept staring around her. They were all on edge. Katherine had got close enough to them last night to overhear Rick and Daryl's conversation, next time it might be close enough to kill.

"This is exactly the sort of thing that keeps us from being able to fully trust you" Deanna spoke up suddenly.

"Most of your group made it out alive, there's only five of us left now. How do we know you're not just going to let her get to us to save your people?"

Instantly Daryl was in her face.

"We lost friends too. If your people were able to stay awake on watch maybe that herd wouldn't have got in, maybe we'd have got some warning and if your people had been able to take care of themselves maybe more of them would of got away. This aint on us"

Spencer pushed himself in front of his mother.

"Step back or I'll put you back, injured or not" he threatened. Daryl gave a snort of amusement.

"Try it kid, dare yer" he goaded. He shot a glance at Enid.

"Hell, that girl there's got more balls than most of you Alexandria men put together. Knows how to fight better too"

Despite the tense situation Michonne couldn't help the small grin at the look of pride on the teenage girls face at Daryl's praise.

Maggie got between the two men, pushing them apart.

"Stop it! If she is playing us this is exactly what she wants. She wants to get us fighting among ourselves, get us all distracted so she can move in and do whatever she's planning" she cried.

Aaron was by her side, agreeing with her.

"She's right, we have to stick together"

Reluctantly they backed away from each other, still maintaining eye contact as Deanna put her hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"It's okay, just leave it" she told him softly.

"That's right, you just do what yer Mama says like a good lil' boy" Daryl couldn't help himself and at once Spencer was striding towards him.

"Daryl!" Carol had a hand on his chest, holding him back.

"Just back off, this isn't helping"

With a frustrated growl he span on his heel and strode off, distancing himself from the rest of the group.

"We have to work out what we're doing" Rick looked at each of them in turn " If we want to survive we have to work together. Our first priority is finding water, then food"

He thought for a moment.

"Sasha, you go with Spencer and Tara, see if you can find a source of water. There must be a creek or something around here, something they used to irrigate the farm. Stay alert" With a brief nod Sasha headed off, the other two following closely behind.

"Daryl, you should rest but I know you won't, so take Aaron and see if you can find some way of setting up some snares or other traps. You can't shoot but you may be able to get us some game that way. Maggie, Glenn, you go with them as backup"

Griping about not needing no damn babysitter Daryl headed to the nearest outbuilding on a search for something suitable to make animal traps.

Rick hid his grin, as he watched him stomp away, Aaron hurrying to keep up with his long strides.

"Carol, you and Rosita head inside. Find windows upstairs with a clear view and keep watch, cover the back and front. We don't want anything, or anyone, sneaking up on us. Me, Michonne and Carl will do what we can to make the house secure, set up noise traps, anything to give us notice of something trying to get in" Rick watched, satisfied as everyone hurried to do as instructed.

"What about us?" Deanna asked, indicating Jessie and Sam "What can we do?"

"Take Judith inside. Search the whole house and see if you can find anything we can use. Food, weapons, even blankets and clothes. Then maybe you can see what you can do to make it more comfortable. If we can find a water supply it might be an idea to stay here for a few days" Rick tried to make her feel useful, knowing she was struggling with being out on the road.

With a nod Deanna took Judith from his arms and the two women headed inside.

Several uneventful hours passed and the house was now as secure as they could make it. Sasha and her team had found a small pond nestled among the trees and filled every container they could find, planning to boil the water before drinking it.

The snares had netted a couple of small rabbits, it wasn't much but added to the few tins of canned vegetables Jessie had found at the back of a cupboard it was enough to make a stew for everyone to enjoy.

They took turns to keep watch during the night, two upstairs and two on the veranda and changed guard every four hours, not wanting to risk anyone falling asleep while on duty. When morning came none of them felt very rested, no one had managed more than a couple of hours of sleep and tempers were frayed.

"I'll go refill the water containers" Sasha announced and Spencer was quick to volunteer to help the pretty young woman. It was only minutes before they were back, Spencer white faced and shaking, Sasha furious.

Telling the others to remain behind and stay alert Rick and Daryl followed her back to the pond. It wasn't long before they heard the buzzing of flies and the unbelievable stench of death hit them.

As they approached the pond Rick could make out a dark shape lying half submerged in the shallow water. A cloud of flies were hovering around it.

Daryl was the first to work it out.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed, kicking at a nearby tree in frustration.

Rick was close enough now to see that the shape was human. As he drew nearer he realised that the body had been sliced open, it's entrails and organs oozing from the gaping hole in its stomach, spilling into the water, contaminating it with blood and gore.

"Even if we boil it we can't risk drinking it now" Sasha was still furious, "She's wrecked the only source of water we have"

At the sound of her voice the shape in the pond moved. It's head turned slowly, milky eyes seeking out the source of the noise. As it lifted its hand weakly, reaching towards them they got a clear look at the once living things face for the first time. It was only recently turned, probably sometime during the night, which is why they all recognised it. Staring at them, teeth snapping as it tried to pull its self from the water, was Jonathan.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

**Thanks to DarylDixon'sLover and Kilema for reviewing and Lewis7 for favouriting.**

Chapter 14

Daryl scanned the ground, intent on finding the tracks that would hopefully lead them to Katherine.

"Looks like she killed him here, blood on the ground and sprayed over the bushes. You can see the drag marks where she dragged the body to the pond. I guess she waited for him to turn then gutted him in the water" he informed Rick and Sasha as they trailed along behind him.

"Two sets of tracks here, one small and one looks like it was dragging a leg behind it. She probably hurt him to get him here then made him walk through the trees until she finished him off"

He followed the two sets of footprints back until they came to a narrow dirt road, the fresh tyre marks obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Cautiously they edged down the track, watching the surrounding forest for any sign of attack. Eventually the dirt road turned on to the pavement and , despite his best efforts, Daryl could find no further sign of either Katherine or her vehicle. Reluctantly they headed back to the farm house.

They stopped off to check the snares on the way back only to find the narrow rope Daryl had used hacked into useless, short lengths.

"Goddammit!" Daryl was furious, "Aint nothing else left to make more snares with. Whole farm was pretty much stripped bare before we ever got here" he ranted as he searched the area for any sign of the intruder.

"What do we do now?" Sasha asked, her usually unflappable manner beginning to unravel.

"We've no fresh water, barely any food and no transport. Where do we go from here?"

"We stay calm and head back to the others. We'll stay here tonight and in the morning we'll send a party out to find more water" Rick reassured her. "We've enough left to last 'till morning if we ration it. We'll make it, we've been through worse"

Daryl returned, pale and angry and Rick suddenly remembered he'd been injured only the day before.

"Come on, let's get you back" he put a hand on Daryl's arm "You need to rest"

"Can't find any sign of her, she's like a damn ghost. Remember her saying she was with some survivalist for a while, he must of showed her how to move without leaving a trail" Daryl shrugged Rick's grip on his arm off.

"Gotta find her 'fore she hurts anyone" he muttered.

Rick suddenly realised that Daryl was blaming himself for Katherine's attacks.

"This isn't your fault" he told him quietly as Sasha lead the way back to the house.

"Yeah it is" Daryl argued "Should've let that walker get her back at the hotel, instead of sticking a bolt through its head. Hell was I thinking?"

"She'd just risked herself to save my kids. You weren't to know she'd come after us like this. You've gotta let it go. She's going to get cocky and screw up soon and we'll get her then" Rick glanced at him.

"Trust me, we will get her" he said darkly "and this time we'll make sure she's dead"

Katherine sat by the small fire she'd made on the side of the road. The rabbit she'd taken from the snares before destroying them had been delicious. She wondered if they'd found them yet, laughing to herself as she thought of Daryl's reaction when he saw the useless lengths of rope left behind. She'd done that on purpose, leaving irrefutable proof it was a deliberate act. She didn't want them thinking the snares and anything caught in them had been carried away by either a larger animal or a walker. She wanted them to know it was down to her.

The sun was setting as she kicked soil over the fire, it was time to carry out the next part of her plan. It was time for the group to lose their refuge, for them to be on the road again.

Carol and Morgan were patrolling the veranda and Glenn and Rosita were on duty inside the house when the she struck.

A burst of gunfire raked the front of the house, tearing holes into the wooden facia just above the lower floor windows, causing Morgan and Carol to throw themselves to the ground. The shots were too high to cause injury but the noise was enough to cause panic among the sleeping members of the group as they jolted awake. Rick and Carl automatically reached for Judith, Spencer pulled Deanna behind him and Maggie screamed Glenn's name as she made a dash for the stairs, desperate to make sure he was okay. She met him halfway down, as he was running to check on her.

Daryl and Sasha headed outside, relieved to see Morgan and Carol unharmed, but shaken and the four quickly made their way back inside.

It was as they all came together in one room that Tara suddenly announced.

"Can anyone else smell smoke?"

Handing Judith to Carl, Rick made his way to the nearest window. Thick black smoke billowed across the yard and he saw that the nearest outbuilding, a large, dilapidated wooden shed was ablaze, the flames soaring into the night sky.

"She's torched the barn" he faced the others. "The noise of the gunfire and the flames are gonna bring every walker for miles right to our doorstep. We have to go now"

Jessie stared at him with wide eyes.

"We can't. It's night, we're on foot. We don't stand a chance" she bit back a terrified sob, as she clung onto Sam tightly.

"We don't have a choice" Rick told her softly.

"The direction the winds blowing, there's a good chance the house will catch alight. We have to go now before too many walkers show up. We won't be able to fight our way through a hoard of them and we can't risk being trapped in here if it does start to burn" he explained.

With a sigh, Deanna drew herself up.

"He's right Jessie, I know you're scared but we have to go"

Silently they gathered up the few items they'd managed to scavenge from the house, slipping out the door as the first walkers arrived in the yard, drawn by the sound and sight of the fire.

Bringing up the rear with Morgan, Daryl turned back in time to see the first flames begin to lick the roof of the house they had just left. It wouldn't be long before it became an inferno. He couldn't help the shudder as he thought back to being trapped in the burning house back at Alexandria.

"Looks like Rick made a good call" he heard Morgan mutter as they made their way toward the road.

They walked for the rest of the night, nerves frayed as they stayed alert. They were all scared, angry and exhausted. Rick couldn't understand how one woman had been able to get through their defences time and again. He realised he'd totally underestimated Katherine and regretted not killing her when he'd had the chance.

They stopped when the sun came up, allowing themselves a few sips from the rapidly dwindling supply of water.

Stretching her back, Maggie rose and headed deeper into the trees, needing a moment of privacy.

"Wait!" Rick called out "No one goes anywhere alone. Glenn, go with her and keep watch. Make sure you're armed"

Glenn was already on his feet, not needing to be told to protect his wife. The two disappeared from sight, the eyes of the group staring after them, willing them to hurry back.

Ten long minutes passed with no sign of them. Rick exchanged a look with Daryl and the hunter nodded in return. The two men rose, gathering their weapons, but before they could move Maggie burst from the trees.

"She's got Glenn" she cried, "He was a just few feet away, just the other side of a tree. We was talking, then he went quiet" she was crying and shaking as Carol tried to comfort her.

"When I looked Katherine had him. She had a knife shoved under his chin and a gun in his side. She told him she'd shoot me if he tried anything. She said to tell you if we want him back we have to come get him, that there's a town about five miles down the road and she'll be waiting for us there"

Her knees buckled and she sank to the ground, sobbing.

"If we know she's going to be in that town we should head in the other direction and get some distance between us" Deanna spoke up "Hopefully she won't be able to pick up our trail again if we can get far enough away"

She wasn't fazed by the hostile glares aimed her way.

"You're saying we should just leave Glenn and save ourselves?" Tara was incredulous.

"I'm saying we sacrifice one to save the rest of us" Deanna continued "It's how we've always done things at Alexandria"

"It aint how we do it" Daryl spat, not believing what he'd just heard "We don't leave our own behind"

Deanna was about to reply when Rick cut her off.

"If she'd taken Spencer would you say the same? Would you abandon your son to save yourself?" Her silence was all the reply he needed.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back" Rick reassured Maggie "We'll get him back and we'll finish this once and for all" His face was impassive, eyes dark and hard.

"She doesn't get to live, not after this"

**Final confrontation coming up in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**xxxxx**


	15. Chapter 15

**First of all I want to say sorry for the ridiculously long delay in updating this story. Some of that was because real life got in the way and some was because I have never struggled so much with a story before. This chapter had been a complete b***h to write and I can only hope I haven't messed it up too Thanks to all who reviewed, favourite and followed this effort. ****Extra special thanks to Lizziekat15 for all the support, advice and all the PM's that cheered me up no end. Check out her profile for some brilliant Walking Dead , extra special thanks to BreenaBelle-xoxo for reading this through and giving me the confidence to finally post it, as well as for all her other support. Please take the time to check out her works, she has some excellent stories, well worth a read.I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**xxxx**

Chapter 15

Before the turn the town of Walhalla, South Carolina, would have probably been a nice place to spend a day, once attractive looking stores lined its wide streets with several family friendly restaurants scattered amongst them. Now, however, any appeal it had was long gone. The store fronts were faded and broken, doors and windows smashed open, the interiors ruined by both people and the elements.

They passed abandoned vehicles with doors still open, bags and other items scattered nearby, either from last desperate attempts by the vehicles owners to escape or by the looters that had passed through the town in the following months.

Bodies in various stages of decay lay where they had fallen and Rick was disgusted by the sight of rats gnawing at some of the freshest corpses, vicious black eyes watching as the group moved slowly along the otherwise deserted streets.

They travelled in formation, the strongest in front and bringing up the rear, the most vulnerable protected in the middle. They kept the few weapons they had raised, ready to fire but all too aware of how little ammunition they actually had left.

Rick had considered splitting the group, leaving the weakest holed up in a safe house somewhere near the town boundaries while the most capable among them headed off to find and rescue Glenn. It was Carol who pointed out that maybe Katherine would expect that and once they were separated she would move in, taking out half the group while they were relatively unprotected. It was a group decision to stay together.

As they cautiously made their way to the centre of the town they noticed more and more freshly killed walkers, some clearly stabbed but many others with neat bullet holes in their foreheads.

"She's been clearing the streets" Michonne mumbled to Rick as she flanked him at the head of the procession, katana in hand, body tense as she scanned the surrounding area.

"She wants to make sure we get through" Rick watched the buildings, looking for any sign of movement, any kind of warning.

They hadn't gone much further when Daryl nudged his arm.

"Blue car up there, S'one from Alexandria. She must've got away from the hotel in it" he told the deputy.

Rick cursed out loud.

"It's one of the ones we kept supplies in, in case we had to leave quickly, didn't anticipate we wouldn't be able to get to it when we did have to run" He swore again.

"That explains how she's got so many weapons" He turned to the others.

"Stay alert, her cars up ahead. She could be nearby so keep your eyes open" he instructed.

The tension was palpable, every one of them waiting for the gunshot, waiting to see who would be the next to die. None of them were expecting everyone to get out alive.

They approached a large red bricked building, steps leading from the sidewalk to a portico supported by four stone pillars. Large picture windows covered the frontage and movement at one of these caught Maggie's eye.

"Glenn!"

Her cry was loud and agonised but no one called her out on it. Instead they all stared in horror at the highest window. The glass had been smashed out and Glenn was framed in the large open space. His arms were stretched out to the top corners of the window frame, bound to something they couldn't see. His legs were unbound but hung just above the window ledge, his entire weight suspended from his arms. He was shaking his head frantically, trying to tell them something through the cloth that had been stuffed into his mouth and tied tightly behind his head. Even from where they stood on the sidewalk they could see the blood as it ran down his face, dripping onto his chest and soaking into his shirt.

Maggie made a run for the building, Sasha and Spencer only just catching hold of her as she tried to get to her husband.

"Maggie!" Rick's voice stopped her struggles to get free.

"We will get him but we have to make sure it's safe first. How will it help Glenn if you get killed rushing in there?"

Reluctantly Maggie nodded, knowing he was right and hating him for it.

Drawing closer together they headed towards the building. Carved into the stone above the pillars Rick noticed the words 'Oconee County Courthouse'. The front doors were wedged open and there was no sign of movement inside. Entering, they found themselves in a large reception area with doors leading to several different rooms.

Rick, Daryl, Sasha, Maggie and Carol left the remainder of the group barricaded in one of the offices in the foyer area as they made their way up the ornate staircase to the first floor. Daryl had left his crossbow with Carl, still unable to use it due to his injured shoulder, and even armed with a rifle, he felt vulnerable.

"Staircase to the second floor's just through here" Sasha reached for the door handle and pulled it open, just as something made Daryl yell at her to stop.

The first dog launched itself into the corridor before anyone could react. Sasha just managed to get her arm up in time to prevent its teeth sinking into her throat. Instead its fangs closed around her lower arm, tearing into the flesh and muscle, the dog's weight pulling the slender woman down as it refused to release its grip. A second dog slinked passed the first, ears flat against its head and teeth bared as it snarled at them, suddenly lunging at Maggie.

The bullet caught it in mid-air as it threw itself at her. The half-starved creature let out a yelp as it dropped to the floor, its body giving one final twitch before finally stilling. Maggie gave Daryl a grateful nod as he lowered the rifle. Rick had used the red handled machete on the dog attacking Sasha and Carol was doing her best to stop the bleeding, trying to hold the torn apart skin together as she attempted to cover the wound with a rag.

"I need to get her downstairs, Rosita's got the first aid kit and I need water to clean this up. We can't risk infection" With Maggie's help they got a shaking Sasha to her feet and Carol took her weight as the two women made their way back downstairs.

Rick, Daryl and Maggie made their way to the second floor where they found the gnawed remains of some kind of animal, the corpse too mutilated to even recognise.

"I guess she lured the dogs up here with this, then shut them in, knowing we'd have to come this way" Rick nudged the remains with his foot.

"Woman's sick" Daryl muttered, clearly upset "Aint right to use dogs like that"

Rick and Maggie exchanged looks, of all the things they'd seen in the last couple of years nothing had ever appeared to shake the formidable hunter.

"What?" he saw the look "Always liked dogs, less trouble than people most of the time, more loyal too. Didn't like killin' that one"

Rick shook his head with a small smile.

"Known you all this time and you can still surprise me" he commented as they worked their way to the next floor.

Their nerves were frayed as they moved slowly and cautiously, expecting Katherine to appear from one of the many rooms lining the corridors. Finally they reached the fourth floor.

"Kid should be in this room" Daryl nodded towards a closed door, rifle raised as he scanned the area.

Maggie reached out, her fingers closing around the door knob and Rick caught her hand.

"It might be booby trapped" he told her quietly "Let me take a look"

He studied the door, running his fingers carefully around the frame. Once he was as satisfied as he could be he grabbed the handle and twisted it slowly, using the point of his machete to push the door wide open.

Glenn was framed in the window, his wrists bound with cord that had been thrown over the pole that once supported heavy, ornate drapes, the drapes themselves now thrown in an untidy heap on the floor. The cord had been pulled taut, forcing his arms above his head, the other end tied to heavy items of furniture, securing him in place.

At once Rick and Daryl moved to untie the clumsy knots, carefully lowering the semi-conscious man to the plush, carpeted floor. Maggie was by his side instantly, removing the gag as she cradled his head in her arms.

"Glenn" she whispered "Please, can you hear me?"

His eyes fluttered open and he stared up at his beautiful wife, a small smile on his lips.

"You're here" he gasped, reaching up to touch her face "You're safe"

Suddenly his eyes widened in panic and he tried to get to his feet.

"Dogs!" he cried "She said there was dogs, that they'd be waiting for you"

"It's okay, we dealt with them" Maggie reassured him, deciding not to mention Sasha just yet, relieved when he relaxed against her.

"Hate to break up this romance crap but we gotta get out of here" Daryl's rough voice was loud as he and Rick kept watch.

"You able to walk?" Rick glanced at Glenn as Maggie helped him up, and the younger man stumbled against her.

"Got a bit of a headache and I'm seeing two of you" he sagged against his wife "But I'll manage"

Daryl went first, taking point , Maggie and Glen close behind him. Rick turned to take one final look out of the window when a flash of light caught his attention. He was moving before he fully understood what he saw, crashing into the young couple and knocking them to the side. The bullet aimed at Maggie's head missed by inches, striking the wall in front of her.

A second shot rang out almost immediately, this one catching Maggie in the thigh as she tried to scramble for cover while still protecting Glenn.

"Stay low" Rick ordered "She's in the building across the street, saw the sun reflect off her gun just before she fired"

"I got this" Daryl was in the corridor, out of sight of the window.

"Give me a couple of minutes to get down there, then cause a distraction, give me a chance to get over there and take the bitch out" ignoring Rick's protests he dashed towards the stairs.

With a sigh Rick waited for a few minutes before crawling to the window and peering over the ledge, he took a deep breath, then jumped up firing randomly at the building across the street. At once the fire was returned and he dived down again, covering his head as debris from the wall surrounding the window showered over him. He shoved the rifle out the window and, staying low, pulled the trigger. All he heard was a hollow click, the rifle was empty.

"Here" Maggie slid her hand gun across the floor and he scooped it up, checking the magazine.

"Only three shots" he muttered as he prepared to jump up and fire again. "Come on Daryl, move your ass"

Katherine smiled to herself as Rick appeared in the window again and fired a couple more shots. Did he really think she was dumb enough to fall for such an obvious distraction? She settled her back against the wall next to the window, aimed her rifle at the door, and waited.

Daryl raced up the stairs, heading for the fourth floor. He'd made it outside the courthouse, waited until he'd seen the muzzle flash from Katherine's gun when she'd returned Rick's fire, then dashed across the road and into the building she was holed up in.

Now he was outside the door to the room he believed she was in. Taking a deep breath he reached for the handle.

Katherine tensed as she saw the handle turn, she tightened her grip on her gun, a smirk on her face as the door began to open slowly.

Daryl stepped silently into the room expecting to find Katherine over by the window, instead he found himself facing the barrel of her rifle. Acting on instinct he threw himself sideways, finger tightening on the trigger of his own weapon as he fell.

He heard the retort of his gun, followed by a hollow click and a curse as he saw Katherine jerk backwards, a look of surprise wiping that hateful smirk off her face. He rolled onto his back, bringing the rifle round again but before he could fire Katherine was on him. She kicked the weapon aimed at her to one side and swung her gun down hard, aiming for his head but he twisted away and the blow missed its intended target, instead catching him on his already injured shoulder. The flare of pain took his breath away for a few seconds and before he could recover Katherine was gone.

Daryl pulled himself to his feet and moved cautiously to the hallway. There was no sign of the woman but he saw a trail of fresh blood on the carpeted floor. He realised he must have managed to wing her when he fired and gave a satisfied grunt.

"Aint so cocky now bitch" he muttered as he set off in pursuit.

Katherine stumbled down the stairs, heading for the fire escape at the back of the building. As she ran she tugged up the edge of her shirt, swearing when she saw the angry looking wound on her side.

"Bastard!" she muttered as she pushed open the door and staggered into the sunlight. She was furious; she'd had him in her sights, thinking this time she was tired of playing, now it was time to end this, it was time to start killing. She'd even anticipated his quick reactions, knowing he would dive to the side as soon as he saw her and aimed accordingly. She'd pulled the trigger and nothing had happened, the damn gun had jammed. She was beginning to wonder if those angel wings did mean something after all, the man seemed damn near invincible.

She wrenched open the door of the car parked by the door. She'd left it there earlier as a precaution, just in case she needed a quick getaway. She was just pulling away when the fire escape swung open and she saw Daryl framed in the doorway.

Daryl gave a yell of frustration as he saw the car begin to accelerate away. He fired several times at the receding vehicle, taking a small amount of satisfaction when the rear windshield shattered and the car swerved across the road before she appeared to regain control and it disappeared round a corner.

Daryl turned and ran at full pelt yelling for Rick and the others. They met him in the road outside the courthouse.

"Bitch got away" he panted, as he tried to regain his breath "I winged her, think I might of got her again in the car but then I lost her"

"You and me, we'll take the car she left here, we'll go after her and finish this" Rick turned, heading towards the blue car taken from Alexandria.

"Wait" Deanna spoke up "I think I know where she might be going" She waited for Rick to turn back before continuing.

"When she first arrived at Alexandria I interviewed her. She told me she had a sister and they'd stayed at a campsite until they were run off by a hoard. She said it was the last place she'd felt safe with her sister. That campsite was at Devil's Fork State Park, that's less than 20 miles from here. I think if she's hurt and she's running she might return there, a place she felt safe and happy in"

"That makes sense" Carol spoke up "head to somewhere she knows. She'll think we won't find her there"

Rick mulled it over; she'd talked about a sister and that was about the only thing she'd said that he'd actually believed. He knew from experience that when someone was hurt and alone they tended to head for somewhere familiar, a safe place to hide away in.

"Okay" he decided "We'll head there and see if we can find her" he glanced around at the tired faces.

"Let's go find some transport"

Katherine pulled up outside the cabin she had shared with Melissa all those months ago. She hesitated at the door before taking a deep breath and heading inside, not bothering to check if the place was clear. Nothing had changed; the book her baby sister had been reading was still open on the small table by the couch, her jacket still draped over a chair. Swallowing back a sob she limped into the bathroom.

There was a fine layer of dust over the surfaces and she wiped a clean patch in the mirror, peering at her reflection. The shot that had shattered the rear windshield had grazed her cheek, leaving a raised red welt from just under her ear to her chin.

Muttering she pulled open the cabinets, dragging the contents out until she found an almost empty pack of Tylenol. She dry swallowed four as she taped a piece of gauze over the wound on her side. It hurt a lot but wasn't deep, she would deal with it later. She ignored the injury on her jaw, deciding it didn't look pretty but wasn't that serious.

She hurried into the bedroom she'd used when the cabin had been her home and knelt at the side of the bed. Flipping the rug to one side she dug her fingers into the narrow gap between the floorboards, lifting one and revealing the small recess hidden underneath. With a sign of relief she found the gun and spare ammo were still hidden inside. Quickly she loaded the weapon and tucked it into her waistband, standing just as she heard the sound of approaching vehicles.

The three cars were moving slowly through the camp site, stopping a safe distance away from the only cabin with a vehicle parked nearby. They been lucky enough to find a working car with jumper cables tucked in the trunk and using the blue car from Alexandria they had jump started a third and made their way the beautiful State Park, making good time.

Rick slipped from the lead car and made his way to the next one in the little convoy. Morgan was driving, with Glenn, Maggie and Sasha crammed in the back, all the injured being kept together. As the only one with any first aid experience Rosita was in the passenger seat, the few remaining medical supplies clutched on her lap.

"Daryl says that's the car she left town in" Rick nodded towards the haphazardly parked vehicle.

"There's no sign of movement in that cabin so stay alert. Me, Daryl and Michonne will check it out. You take everyone else back to the edge of the camp site. Check out the visitor centre and barricade yourselves inside. We'll find you when it's over. Don't forget to keep watch at all times" he instructed as his eyes scanned the surrounding area, staying vigilant.

Morgan gave a nod of acknowledgment as Rick made his way to speak to Deanna, driving the third car, leaning forward to speak to her through the half open window.

As he straightened to turn away the glass beside him shattered, the sound of the shot reaching him a millisecond later. He heard Jessie scream as he threw himself away from the car, trying to draw the fire from those inside the vehicle.

A second shot hit the ground near his foot just as he managed to pull himself behind a brick built grill, provided for those staying onsite. He could hear a horn blaring, Jessie's screams and over it all, Spencer's anguished cries. Risking a glance he saw Deanna slumped forward over the steering wheel, the bullet meant for him had killed her instantly.

"Dad!" Carl was screaming at him, Michonne struggling to hold the boy back as he tried to get to his Father. Daryl was out of the car, gun raised as he tried to see where the shots were coming from.

Katherine pressed herself against the side of the cabin, trying to find a clear shot at Rick. She realised she would never get him while he was sheltering behind the sturdy grill and decided to lure him out. Shifting her position slightly she stepped forward and aimed at Carl, still struggling in Michonne's grip. She was so focused on her target she didn't notice she had moved away from the shelter of the cabin wall.

Daryl and Michonne spotted her instantly and the hunter fired just as she released her finger on the trigger. She hadn't counted on Michonne's lightning fast reflexes, cursing as the woman pulled the boy behind her. The bullet aimed for Carl's head tore through the swordswoman's upper arm, flinging her backwards and over, dragging the teen with her.

Daryl's aim was off, due to his still recovering shoulder and his shot missed, the bullet tearing into the wood of the cabin just inches from Katherine's head. She felt the sting of the splinters and shards of wood on her uncovered arms and face and ducked back out of sight. Quickly she reloaded her gun with the last of her bullets, moving towards the back of the building, planning where to go next.

She could hear shouting and knew they would be coming for her and without enough ammo to take all of them out she knew she had to run. With a final angry glance over her shoulder she turned and headed into the trees behind her former home.

Rick rushed to his son's side, as Daryl dashed towards where they had last seen Katherine. Michonne was sitting up, her face twisted in a mixture of pain and anger. She knocked Rick's hand to one side as he reached for her.

"It's nothing" she winced as he caught hold of her wrist and gently pulled her arm towards him.

"Bullet went right through, it just stings a bit" she spoke through gritted teeth, hiding exactly how much pain she was in.

Rick let go of her, giving her the space she wanted and pulled Carl into a hug, still watching the warrior woman in front of him.

"Thank you" he said softly "You know I'll never be able to repay you for all the times you've saved my kids"

Michonne shrugged, flinching as the movement caused a flare of agony.

"I'm sure, at some point, I'll be able to think of a way" her deep, dark eyes locked with his as she managed a smile that caused a blush to creep up Rick's neck as he suddenly understood her implied meaning.

The quiet snigger from Carl had Rick briefly wondering when his son had grown up enough to understand such things.

Morgan had gathered everyone together away from the vehicles. Carol carefully moved Deanna's body away from the steering wheel, finally silencing the blaring horn as she laid her gently down across both front seats. Aaron was trying to comfort a still shaking Jessie, as she held a traumatised Sam close to her.

Sasha had gone to Spencer and persuaded him to leave his mother's side, the young man in a state of shock. In a short space of time he had lost his entire family, each in a different, horrendous way. Having lost both her lover and brother within days of each other Sasha felt she could understand what he was going through, giving what comfort she could, despite her own injuries.

Michonne allowed Carl to help her to her feet as Daryl headed back to the little group.

"She's gone into to the forest and aint bothering to cover her tracks" he stated, flashing a sly glance at Rick.

"Left a trail even you could follow" he commented as he started rummaging in the blue car, pulling out more ammo for the rifle slung over his uninjured shoulder.

It wasn't long before Rick and Daryl were ready to set off in pursuit of Katherine. They made sure the rest of the group were secure in the visitor centre, the injured resting, those still able keeping watch.

Rick took Carol to one side, away from Morgan.

"Looks like she running now, but if she does double back before we get her don't hesitate to shoot to kill. Morgan will probably want to keep her alive, don't let him stop you from finishing this" He told her quietly.

Carol nodded her face grim.

"Don't worry; he won't "she said coldly.

Katherine ran through the trees, following what had at one time been a well maintained track. Now it was overgrown and rough and she stumbled more than once. She had no plan, just knew she needed to get some distance between herself and those who wanted to kill her. The graze on her face stung as she gasped for breath.

Her foot caught in an exposed root and she fell, landing on her hands and knees, the impact sending waves of pain through the gunshot wound in her side. Tentatively she touched it, her fingers coming away covered in blood.

"Damn it" she whispered as she forced herself back to her feet. Her head span for a few seconds and she leant against a tree, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Eventually she set off again, this time at a slower pace.

Rick and Daryl moved through the forest, following the obvious trail of broken undergrowth and snapped twigs. Every so often Daryl pointed out patch of fresh blood.

"She's hurt, it's slowing her down" he commented as they pushed forward.

"Looks like she fell" The hunter indicated a flattened area of ground, then glanced at a nearby tree.

"Pulled herself up here" he touched a bloodied mark on the tree trunk, studying his fingertips.

"Still wet, she aint that far ahead" he muttered.

Rick watched, once again impressed with Daryl's ability to spot the smallest disturbance, the tiniest sign that something had been through the area.

"This way" Daryl set off once more. They hadn't gone far when they heard the gunshots.

Katherine threw her empty gun to one side. The two walkers had come from nowhere and she'd been forced to use her remaining bullets to take them out. A roaring sound was filling her ears as she pushed on and she shook her head trying to clear it. The noise got louder and she realised it wasn't in her head but coming from somewhere in front.

She stumbled through a break in the trees and found herself at the edge of a fast flowing river. A few hundred yards downriver she could see nothing but mist and spray and it suddenly registered she was at the top of the Lower Whitewater Falls. She remembered back at the cabin Melissa showing her a brochure full of local attractions and begging her to let her go and see the spectacular 200 foot cascade. They'd never had the chance to go before the group of men had invaded the camp and destroyed her world.

She turned away from the falls and began to make her way upstream, looking for a safer place to cross the raging torrent.

Rick glanced at the two walkers, both had been killed by head shots but both had several more bullets holes in them.

"She missed a few times, I guess she's struggling" Rick rose, glancing around him cautiously, expecting to see Katherine at any second.

"We can't be more than a few minutes behind her"

"Don't think she's armed anymore" Daryl held up the empty gun he'd found discarded at the edge of the track. "looks like she used everything she had to take these down" he kicked at one of the walkers as they passed, slower now as they knew they were close.

"Hell's that damn noise?" he grumbled as the trees began to thin out.

Katherine was almost halfway across the river when she saw the two men step out of the trees. The water was deeper than she'd expected, up to her waist by this point, the current pulling at her legs, the cold water numbing her, making it difficult keep her footing. She watched helplessly as the men turned as one, spotting her instantly. Rick raised his gun, the satisfied smile on his face as chilling as the icy water as he took aim.

As he pulled the trigger she did the only thing she could think of and fell back, allowing the water to take her. The current swept her down the river, towards the falls, throwing her against boulders and rocks, pulling her under then thrusting her back up to the surface again. She thought she heard more shots but the sound of the approaching cascade was almost deafening. Once she was past the two surprised men she began to fight the water, trying desperately to grab anything to stop her momentum. Finally, feet away from the drop her hands latched onto a large boulder, half submerged in the water. Exhausted she clung to it, not sure what to do next, as she tried to drag herself out.

A shadow fell over her and she glanced up to see Daryl standing above her, staring impassively down from a flat rock, overhanging the water, making no attempt to help.

Katherine was startled to realise how much she wanted to live but if she was going to die it was going to be on her terms and she was damned if she was going alone.

She put on her best scared expression, eyes wide as she gazed up at Daryl.

"Please" she managed to croak out "please, help me"

Daryl shrugged.

"Why?" he asked, yelling to be heard over the roar of the waterfall, not really interested in her reply.

"Because you're a good man" she called back "because I know you tried to help those other girls, Beth and Sophia. You failed them but you can save me" her voice grew more frantic as she felt her grip on the wet boulder slipping.

"Please!" she cried

The rushing of the water made it difficult to hear but Daryl clearly heard the words Beth, Sophia and failed. Without thinking he dropped to his knees, reaching an arm out to the woman in front of him, she was right if he could save her, maybe that would make up for his other failings.

He heard Rick yelling his name as his fingers stretched towards her, only realising his mistake as her hand closed around his arm, her nails digging painfully into his flesh. Her eyes met his and she smiled, an evil grin that sent a shiver of fear through him. He tried to let go, to pull back but her grip was too tight. She let go of the boulder with her other hand and at once the water was pulling on them both. Daryl's fingers scrabbled for purchase, trying to find something to hold onto but the flat rock was smooth and wet and he felt himself being pulled towards the edge.

Rick screamed Daryl's name as he saw him reach for Katherine and he began to run, slipping on the wet rocks, trying desperately to reach his friend before the inevitable happened. He lunged forward, his outstretched fingers just inches from the back of Daryl's vest as the weight of the woman and the force of the water pulled the man into the river.

Rick watched in horror as Daryl disappeared under the water, relieved to see him reappear a few seconds later. He saw Katherine, saw her laughing as the two of them were swept towards the edge, before he lost sight of them in the mist and spray.

He stumbled along the river bank, desperately searching for any sign of either of them but there was nothing. Spray soaked his clothes and water from his hair dripped into his eyes as he slipped and slid his way down the bank. He fell a couple of times, not caring when he sliced open his palm on a rough rock, not caring about the bruises he knew he would have in the morning, only caring about finding some sign of his brother.

He reached the place where the water thundered over the edge and dropped to his knees, crawling forward, trying to see through the mist. Rick suddenly realised that this was only the first part of the cascade. Below him he could just make out a further stretch of river before it disappeared into a second drop. Movement caught his eye and he swiped at the moisture restricting his vision. Squinting hard was sure he could see a dark shape, lying slumped on rocks at the water's edge. With a sudden surge in energy he leapt to his feet and began a barely controlled descent down the side of the falls.

He scrambled over rocks and dodged exposed tree roots, picking up the pace the closer he got to the bottom. He actually fell the last few feet, landing in an untidy heap and ignoring the pain in his ribs from landing on a sharp boulder. His steps faltered as he drew near, suddenly afraid of what he was going to find.

Daryl lay on the loose stones, the lower half of his body still in the shallow water. His eyes were closed and Rick could see no sign of life. His long hair was plastered to his face and there was a gash on his forehead, the blood still oozing from the wound, his injured shoulder once again at a strange angle. His hands were bloodied, the nails torn and bleeding, the fingers still clenched.

Hesitantly Rick approached, kneeling at the still man's side. His hands were shaking as he reached out, his cold, wet fingers searching for a pulse in Daryl's neck. He gave a half sob, half sigh of relief when he felt the weak fluttering under his fingertips.

Suddenly Daryl's body shuddered and his eyes flew open. He began to cough, heaving up great amounts of fluid from his lungs. Rick sat back and watched, knowing there was nothing he could do until the heaving was over.

Finally Daryl stopped coughing, his body shaking with the exertion of it. He glanced up at Rick, water still dripping from his hair.

"Shit" he smirked "that was wild for a while"

"What the Hell were you thinking" Rick suddenly yelled, concern giving way to anger.

"Why'd you try to save her? Thought we'd agreed she had to die" he ranted.

"'Cos I let the bitch get in my head again" Daryl snapped back "Said I failed Beth and Sophia, said saving her would help make up for it, I was dumb enough to fall for it" he let out a groan of pain as he tried to sit, clutching at his shoulder and closing his eyes against the pounding in his head.

The anger drained from Rick as suddenly as it came. He'd known Daryl blamed himself for losing the two girls, he just hadn't realised how much.

"If anyone's to blame for Sophia, it's me" he said quietly as he offered a hand to help Daryl up.

"I should never have left her alone. That one's on me" Once Daryl was on his feet Rick stepped back.

"As for Beth, it was her decision. None of us saw that coming, none of us could have stopped it"

"You think I don't know that?" Daryl's voice was quiet, "think I don't keep tellin' meself that. Don't make it any easier. Katherine knew that, used it against me"

He glanced at the water,

"Don't really matter anymore. She's gone now"

Rick followed his gaze.

"You sure about that?" he asked.

"Yeah, she hit her head just as we went over, lost her hold on me. She was out cold when we hit the bottom. I managed to grab a rock, ripped my damn shoulder out again, but she went over the next drop" Daryl swayed slightly, reminding Rick they needed to get back to the others and get the exhausted man's injuries treated and his shoulder reset again.

Carefully they made their way downriver. The bulk of the 200 foot drop was in the second fall and as he peered into the churning water below Rick could see no way anyone could survive the plunge.

He allowed himself a relieved smile.

"It's over now" he said softly as he turned back towards the track to the campsite.

It took a couple of hours but they finally made their way back to where the others were waiting. Despite Rick telling them to wait in the visitor centre they had searched the rest of the cabins, finding what supplies they could. There wasn't much but it was enough for a meal for everyone.

"Forest's full of game, lakes gotta have fish" Daryl stated, as he reluctantly allowed Rosita to wrap his arm in a sling this time.

"We're in the middle of nowhere, there don't seem to be many walkers around" Carol added "or people"

"The cabins are sturdy and they have running water" Glenn pointed out. "Maggie says the soils good, should be able to grow veg and stuff "

Rick looked at each expectant face, noticing the slight smile on Michonne's lips as he met her eyes.

"Looks to me the decisions already been made" he said with a grin "I guess we'll be staying here then"

The relieved smiles were the only answer he needed.

Later that night Rick stood outside, Judith in his arms as he breathed in the clean, cold air.

"You think we can make this place work?" Carol was alongside him, arms wrapped around her body against the chilly night.

Rick thought for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Yeah" he said positively "Just a little work to make the place more secure and I think we've found ourselves a pretty decent home"

Together they went inside, Judith now sleeping against his shoulder. Before lying her down in the box they were using as a makeshift crib Rick looked at each member of his group. They had all been through so much in the last few weeks. So many were hurt and so many had been lost, killed either by walkers or the fight with Katherine and the Wolves. They deserved a break, a place where they could feel safe, a place they could call home.

As he settled Judith under her blanket Rick could only hope that they had found such a place in the beautiful Devil's Fork State Park. He could only hope this temporary peace would last.

He decided he would keep all his doubts and fears to himself.

**Thanks** **for reading.**

**I know a waterfall is a strange idea but once it was in my head it wouldn't get out or let anything else in. I wanted something different for Katherine from the obvious shooting or being bitten, not confident with how well it worked or if it turned out ridiculous. Please let me know what you think. **

**I suspect there will be some who are not happy with this ending, a very short epilogue will be up in the next few hours, please read that and the A/N at the end before shouting at me :)**

**All the locations used are real places, including the court house. I have had to guess about the interior as I couldn't find any pictures. The town, State park and waterfall are genuine places but I have played with their locations, making them closer together to fit this story. Apologies for any other geographical errors. If I had the money I would come and tour the States and seek out all sorts of amazing locations.**


	16. Chapter 16

**edited 9/9/15 - Many thanks to Greer for the guest reviews on Nine Lives and Wolf in sheep's clothing. I hope you get to see this as I have no other way of showing my appreciation for your very kind comments. I hope you enjoyed this one and look forward to seeing what you thought of it and any other stories of mine you choose to read. Reviews are so appreciated by all us writers as we have no other way of finding out how we are doing and how we can improve our work. Thank you for taking the time to comment.**

**Just a short epilogue, please read note at the end.**

**Thanks. xxxx**

Epilogue

The man had been on his own almost from the beginning. Since seeing his wife and son gunned down in front of him for the supplies on their backs he had avoided people, preferring his own company. By his estimate it was coming up to his third winter alone.

He lived in a shelter he'd built himself with materials scavenged from various places and bought deep into the forest. It had taken months but he had a home, it was no palace but it was water tight and hidden from view. It was a place he felt safe.

He lived pretty much self-sufficiently from the land, hunting and fishing for his meat, growing what he could in different places around the forest. There was nothing near his home, nothing that would reveal its location to strangers.

He knew people came to the forest occasionally and he hid from them. He'd seen the two men by the waterfall the previous day, watching as they appeared to search for something before leaving. He did feel a little bad for that as one was clearly hurt and he knew he had herbs and other plants that could have helped ease the man's pain, but he'd also heard the gunfire a while before and wasn't prepared to take the risk of approaching them.

He made his way through the trees, silently following the river, checking the snares he had set at regular intervals. He was trying to catch as much small game as he could so he could preserve it to last through the coming winter when meat would be scarce.

At first he was so engrossed in removing he rabbit from the trap he didn't notice the huddled figure. It was only when they tried to hide themselves behind a tree that he saw the movement. At once his knife was in his hand. He'd run out of bullets long ago, another reason for avoiding the living.

He squinted into the gloom, trying to get a better look at the potential threat. A slight figure was cowering in front of him, trying her best to hide behind the thick trunk of an ancient oak tree.

He lowered the knife and tried a reassuring smile. He wasn't sure how well it worked, it had been a long time since he had reason to grin.

"You can come out, I won't hurt you" his voice was rough and he tried to remember the last time he'd spoken aloud. It had been months, when he still had the stray cat he'd found in the empty farm. The animal had disappeared a long time ago and he'd had no reason to talk since then.

The woman peered at him from behind the tree, her face hidden by her hair and the darkness of the forest. He could just make out big, frightened, dark eyes.

He shoved his knife back into the sheath at his hip and reached into his bag, pulling out some jerky, made from a deer he'd killed a few weeks previously.

"Are you hungry? Do you want some of this?" He held out the food, noticing how his hand shook.

The woman stared at him for several seconds before giving a slight nod. She rose and slipped from her hiding place, stepping fully into the light for the first time. At once he noticed she was wet, her tattered clothes clinging to her slight body. Quickly he averted his eyes, making sure she could see he was only looking at her face. Nervously she approached him, reminding him again of the stray cat and how hard it had been for him to get it to trust him. Once she was close enough she stretched out a hand and snatched the jerky from his outstretched fingers, cramming it into her mouth, chewing it like she'd not eaten for days.

While she ate he took the time to study her. Her dark hair was wet and matted, hanging down her back in a tangled mess. He saw the blood on her shirt and realised she had some kind of injury on her side, just above her hip. Even wet, dirty and scared he could see she was very pretty, the long gash on her cheek not really marring her looks.

She finished chewing the last piece of dried meat, looking at him from lowered eyes.

"Thank you" she whispered, still keeping her distance.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you" he told her, handing her a bottle of water, watching as she swigged it down.

"I know, you're nice" she said as she looked straight into his eyes.

"Not like those men that were after me yesterday. I had to jump into the river to get away" she told him, her voice shaking. He suddenly realised she was shivering with more than fear and pulled his jacket off, holding it out to her. She took it and wrapped it around herself, giving him a dazzling smile that made him forget his own name.

"My name's Katie" she told him, suddenly moving closer, a whole lot closer.

"Please, will you help me?"

End?

**I know that most of you reading this wanted to see Katherine die, but I just couldn't do it. I had so much fun writing her that I had to keep her alive. I'm not sure what I'm doing with her next, there may be a third part (yes Lizziekat15 – I know what you want to see happen!) or I may do a story with none of the original group, a kind of further adventures of Katherine sort of thing. I hope you don't feel too let down, but I can't write something I don't want to, it just wouldn't work.**

**Thanks to everyone who had stayed with this to the bitter end and I really hope you enjoyed it.**

**Thanks for reading**

**Mistyeye**

**Xxxx**


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